


Lost (In Translation) Until I Found You

by SuperBlondie



Series: Real People Who Pissed Off Demons (And Paid for It) [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Demon AU, Demon!Jongdae, Demon!Luhan, Demon!Namjoon, Demon!Yifan, Demon!Yixing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Historical, Hurt/Comfort, Language Barrier, M/M, Minor Character Death, Probably some inaccuracies, Slow-ish burn, demon!yoongi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-05-09 09:17:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 39,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14713338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperBlondie/pseuds/SuperBlondie
Summary: The void in his chest felt endless, a bottomless pit that threatened to swallow him whole. And yet, it is filled by something -someone- so small?





	1. Act 1

**Author's Note:**

> We going (airplane emoji) Baekxing! It's time to get started on the spinoffs for this series and I'm excited!
> 
> This was posted for my birthday as a little thank you and it won't be updated until Demons Aren't Real is finished. But it will be updated!
> 
> Thank you [Aarushi](https://twitter.com/AarushiC_18) for being my beta!

Jackson is going to pay for this. Yixing is not fond of humans at the best of times, when they’re begging him for health and life, offering all their worldly possessions for his gift. He’s a much more direct option to health than Yifan, even if the other demon is a good deal kinder. Watching all these impermanent beings shuffle about and shove at each other sends him right to the edge of losing control. It would be so easy to grab the nearest human and let his powers pull open all the little cuts humans can’t seem to stop acquiring. It’s been a few months since he last got to turn a pricked finger into a gaping gash of a wound.

It would feel so good to let loose, but word would inevitably get back to Yifan. An unspeakably powerful demon, but a fair and honest one too. Harming humans without justification is neither fair nor honest, and Yixing would rather not be on the receiving end of another lecture regarding his lack of control.

He has impeccable control, he hasn’t killed a single human yet. Besides, the humans making the most noise are the children; Yixing will not harm children. They’re the only beings he’ll provide his service to for free, granted that the tiny mortals come up to him of their own will and ask that he fix their ‘boo-boo’s. Something in their big eyes and their pouts like the puppies that they always seem to keep around make the void in his chest yawn open to some kind of heart.

No, Yixing will never harm a child. The adults are another matter entirely.

A human trips into his side, mumbling an apology in the language Yixing’s only just starting to learn. Jackson is going to pay for this, dragging him all the way to this peninsula because Mark wanted to travel. They could have just as easily traveled down to Heung Gong or Nanjing and doubled Mark’s experience with the world. The human grew up on an island, anything outside of its shores is new to him. Jackson is determined to show Mark the entire world though, every country and village the human wants to see. They flit around the market, hand-in-hand as Mark attempts to stop Jackson from buying anything that catches his eye. Providing for one’s human is an instinct, something that only quiets when the fragile creature is safe and warm and satisfied in every way; Jackson is only doing as nature wills him.

Or so Jackson has told him. Yixing wouldn’t know from experience. The void spreads and spreads like the sores of the plague. It reminds him why he even followed these two imbeciles all the way to Incheon. He wants Jackson to dip his eyes into the future and tell him when he’ll meet his human. Yixing dislikes humans, but he’ll love his own.

Yifan and Luhan have often talked of feeling wistful when they see Jackson showering Mark with attention, see the scarred bite on the human’s shoulder that shows he has someone he belongs to. Yixing feels an unignorable emptiness. He has not yet met his human, should not miss them, but the fact that there is no person at his side stings like being thrown through Yifan’s rose bushes by an overzealous Luhan. He’d gladly let himself be thrown through thousands of rose bushes if his human was waiting for him at the other side.

“I do not need flowers,” Yixing watches as Mark bats away the rainbow of flowers Jackson is attempting to give him. He believes it’s meant to be scolding, but they’re both smiling and red is creeping up the tips of the human’s ears.

“But you _want_ them,” Jackson keeps pushing the blossoms in his face until they’re both giggling and Mark takes the flowers from his hands. “Beautiful, simply beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Mark shifts the flowers around, hiding the red in his cheeks behind their petals, “the colors are pretty.”

“I did not mean the flowers,” Jackson takes Mark’s free hand to kiss it before lacing their fingers together. Mark presses himself against Jackson’s side as tightly as propriety allows and the pair disappears off to stalls that Yixing cannot see.

The void opens wide and threatens to swallow Yixing whole. It has before, and _those_ are the times he loses control. He comes back to himself with a trail of bodies in his wake, humans of the most despicable walks of life, leading Yifan and Luhan right to him. They do not understand. They take comfort in each other as friends. Yixing has _no one_.

“Heard they’re gettin’ new whores in today,” two men settle down to eat not too far from him, his countrymen from Beijing if his ears are correct, “I think I saw ‘em earlier and one was real pretty. Real fucking pretty. I’ll bet he’ll make more money than the rest of the broads combined.”

The pair laugh as though nothing in the history of the world could have ever reached that level of comedy. Yixing feels sick. Another reason he dislikes humans, their moronic degradation of women and whores. Women carry the power of life itself in their bodies and they are stronger than any human male Yixing has ever met. The human women that come to him do not beg or plead, they ask him for his service and offer him what they can. He respects that kind of demeanor. As for whores, how can these men speak so poorly of people they will later go and ask service of?

It seems to him that humanity’s meager time in this world makes them dumb and arrogant. Or maybe that is simply who they are and nature saw it fit to cut their lives short enough to avoid any real damage.

Still, the brothel will dispel some of the void eating away at his insides, if only for a little while. Yixing melts out of the shadows, startling the men who had failed to see him. One falls over. It makes the corners of Yixing’s mouth twitch. Yixing blends into the crowd, not remarkable enough to be noticed by the guards but intimidating enough to send the thieves towards other targets.

The brothel is on the outskirts of the market, far enough away that it’s something one has to look for. Doesn’t explain why there are so many fucking humans milling around in the middle of the afternoon. The whores themselves are flitting from person to person, attempting to garner some sort of reaction, but everyone’s circled around something that must be far more appealing than what the women and men in sheer robes and rouge have to offer.

Yixing only wants to take his mind off the empty space in his chest. He should take the pretty woman that’s coming up to him with a licentious smile to her room in the brothel and do just that. But he wants to know what has kept these humans so captivated for so long. He’s seen mice more attentive than most humans. If it’s something that can keep a mortal’s attention, it’s something to see.

So he slips through breaks in the crowd like a shadow, his eyes low until he reaches the front of the ring. As he raises his gaze, the world slows. He can see every speck of dust in the sunlight, watches the dirt shift underfoot. Ratty, old fabric folds and creases with every rise and fall of the creature’s chest. Dry, cracked lips pressed together in a thin line of discomfort. Little nose. Black hair shifts, falls away from his face and _there_ – beautiful brown eyes swirling with fear. The void in Yixing’s chest yawns wider, wider, _wider_ –

Jackson described seeing Mark for the first time as taking one of Yixing’s kicks straight to the chest. He couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t need to breathe because he had Mark. Air was nothing compared to the human in front of him.

Yixing feels like he can finally settle down, restlessness draining out of his soul when the boy curled on the ground meet his eyes.

This is _his_ human, small and tired and scared. The need to care for him burns Yixing from the inside and the demon steps forward. The boy is so tired, eyelids drooping even as he startles at the sudden roar of noise. No one is supposed to break the ring, but Yixing has long stopped caring for human rules. The rules he lives by are older than any that a human has put in place, and the one he follows now – _to the letter_ – is as old as demons themselves.

There’s a man in charge of his human, haughty and loud as he comes to tell Yixing that he must step back on his own or the guards will help him step away. The world outside of the human boy is still coming back to him in pieces, and echoes of this man’s voice goading other men to take a turn with these slaves, with _Yixing’s human_ , once they’re properly trained ring in his ears. Yixing hadn’t planned for it, but he sheds the most outward parts of his disguise, the duller fangs, the blunter claws, the softer face; there is no smugness left in the human’s face when his eyes begin to glow.

Demons exist in this kingdom too. Yixing’s heard of a fire-wielder not too far from here and stories a man who jumps through space itself down south, popping in and out of existence at will. He likely has them to thank for how quickly the man capitulates. “How may I help you, sir? I-is there a problem?”

Yixing does not speak this language well, has had no use for it until now, but he knows enough to say, “How much for the pretty boy?” He keeps his tone flat, face walking the line of boredom and irritation. It would not do well for the man to know just how badly Yixing wants his human, wants to settle him somewhere soft and warm to sleep and feed him whatever he desires when he wakes.

Yixing understands Jackson and the flowers now. He wants to give the boy everything he needs and wants and then some.

The man sputters out some excuse that the boy is not for sale, not yet. Yixing lets his other face shine through, sharp angles and something not quite right about how many teeth he has in his mouth. “How much,” Yixing forces each word out rough and unyielding. Luhan once said that he holds death itself in his eyes when angered. Is that what has the human turning pale and shaking? Maybe. Hopefully. It’s what he deserves. Wretched creature.

“Just take him! You can have him, just go away,” the sweetest words Yixing’s ever heard. That’s what he believes he heard, at least. He never bothered to truly learn this language.

He pulls himself back in, becomes the unassuming man again and bows politely. “Thank you,” because he is nothing if not honorable. One must give thanks for a gift, even if the gift is not given willingly.

His human isn’t chained to the ground, held in place solely by fear of what will happen if he moves, but he goes easy when Yixing wraps a gentle hand around his upper arm and lifts. There’s resignation in his eyes, resignation and fear so strong Yixing can feel it covering his boy like a shroud. He turns toward the brothel, head hung low, but it snaps up when Yixing pulls him away towards the market. His legs are weak, thin and shaky like a newborn fawn, and they stumble and falter and Yixing’s arms itch to pick him up. He must be so light – too light, Yixing wants to see him eat something soon.

The man in-charge attempts to follow after them, yelling that that wasn’t the deal. It’s not Yixing’s fault he interpreted Yixing’s request to buy the boy as a request to rent. Still, Yixing would rather not have to kill anyone today, not when he’s in such a good mood. There’s no void in his chest now, just satisfaction as he tucks his human against his side and walks faster. The boy fits perfectly in the space under his arm. He ducks down an alley and winds through the backroads until it would be hopeless for anyone to try and follow him.

“Sir,” Yixing feels his heart stutter in chest when he hears his human speak for the first time, “What- I don’t understand. Why-  -You?” Yixing understands very little, only able to pick out words at random, and is at a complete loss of how to respond, and isn’t it odd that his first regret in the history of his existence is not learning a language? He wants to listen to this human speak for hours, talk with him and learn everything there is to know about the little scar under his eye and the moles on his arms.

Yixing pats his own chest, “Yixing.” He repeats it again and barely suppresses a shiver when the boy echoes him, sweet voice tripping over the syllables. He pats at the boy’s chest, gentle as he can, and feels a spark of anger at the sharpness of bone. The human doesn’t have a bit of fat on him, does he?

“B-Baekhyun,” his human stutters out after a moment. It might be the prettiest name Yixing’s ever heard. He lets it roll over his tongue and feels a feral grin work across his face. Baekhyun, _his_ Baekhyun.

Yixing wants to sink his teeth in and mark his territory, press in close to Baekhyun until neither of them remember what it was like to be apart. But Baekhyun is shaking with fear and exhaustion, and the need to see his human safe and cared for wins out. Yixing’s brain feels like it’s been taken over and emptied of everything but this droopy-eyed creature. Every thought and sensation is centered around him and the demon wants to bury himself in the feeling.

One of Baekhyun’s knees give out and he nearly crashes to the ground. He doesn’t, of course, Yixing catches him by the waist and presses him to his side to keep him from falling again. Yixing will never let anything happen to his precious human. Baekhyun stiffens at the contact and tries to take on his own weight again, but he’s starved and tired and there’s only so much his weak muscles can do. He slumps back against Yixing with a small noise that the demon can’t decipher and Yixing pets at his dirty, greasy hair.

“Would you like me to carry you? I can.” Yixing could carry him so easily. Baekhyun’s so small, growth cut short by poor nutrition, and he would fit so perfectly in Yixing’s arms. He could sleep while Yixing walks back to the inn. Yixing wants to hold him.

Baekhyun doesn’t answer, just stares up at him with big, confused eyes. He doesn’t speak Yixing’s language. Yixing searches for the words in Baekhyun’s language but they evade him like little fish in a river. The only words he can remember are ‘pretty’ and ‘good’. They’re unendingly applicable to his human, but they’re not what he wants. It’s useless to try and communicate with words; it will be until Yixing can start to teach him. So the demon bends a bit, fits the arm not holding Baekhyun’s waist under the boy’s knees, and starts to lift. He keeps his eyes on Baekhyun’s face, waiting for Baekhyun to tell him no.

Baekhyun does fit perfectly in his arms. If the human relaxed he’d be able to rest his head on Yixing’s shoulder and sleep. Baekhyun is tense though, every muscle in his body pulled taut and rigid. Yixing tries once to nudge Baekhyun’s head to his shoulder, but that just forces a pitiful, terrified sound out of the human’s throat and that’s all Yixing needs to stop. Baekhyun is even lighter than imagined, nearly weightless as Yixing fits him closer to his chest. He’s not sure if that’s a testament to his own strength or the fact that he can feel Baekhyun’s backbone pressing sharply against his arm.

He uses the back alleys to walk back to the market and doesn’t say a word. Not as though any words he says will be of any worth since Baekhyun can’t understand them. Baekhyun speaks occasionally, half-bitten off words that seem to slip out on their own. The human glances at Yixing with unadulterated fear every time it happens. Why? Yixing is content to let Baekhyun talk to himself as much as he likes; his pretty voice makes the time pass faster.

Mark and Jackson are looking for him when he steps out of the shadows. Baekhyun had just started to relax, too tired to stay so tense, but his muscles lock back up the moment he’s thrust back into the sunlight. Yixing should have just taken him back to the inn and climbed in through the window.

Mark sees them first and his head tips to the side in confusion. Yixing tips his head for them to follow him and disappears back into the alley, out of sight. Humans have the tendency to insert themselves where they do not belong and Yixing has had his fill of them for the day, the week, the year. Baekhyun is, of course, the only exception to that rule. He could keep the boy in his arms for the rest eternity and want for nothing.

“Yixing, may I ask who it is you’re holding?” Mark takes hesitant steps into the alley, eyes never once leaving Baekhyun. Jackson stumbles after, eyes similarly focused on Yixing’s human but his left pupil is blown wide. It narrows after a few moments and he pulls Mark close to whisper in his ear. Yixing’s heard him speak after throwing his sight to the future and it’s never anything but nonsense; Mark understands every single word.

“ _Aah…_ You knew it was going to happen the whole day, didn’t you,” Mark says fondly and takes Jackson’s hand in his own. There’s no answering beat of envy in Yixing’s chest. Why would there be? He has Baekhyun now. Baekhyun, who’s eyeing Mark and Jackson like they’re two hungry wolves ready to lunge.

Jackson waves. Baekhyun tries to curl into himself and hide but can’t with Yixing’s arm tucked under his knees. It’s Mark who steps forward, shyness abating to reach out as the only other human who can possibly understand his situation, “Nice to meet you. I’m Mark and he’s Jackson. We’re friends of Yixing and we’ll be staying with you until we all head home. What’s your name?” It’s in their language and Baekhyun is helpless. He doesn’t even understand what is being asked of him. Realization sparks in Mark’s eyes and he switches languages, tongue clumsy around the new syllables, “Do you understand this?”

Baekhyun’s pretty eyes go wide and he leans forward. Jealousy rumbles low and angry in Yixing’s chest. “Y-yes, I understand,” Baekhyun’s voice pitches up in excitement but he bites his tongue. Slaves are only allowed to speak when spoken to. It’s something Mark knows well, the slowly fading scars on his back testament to how long it took him to learn that lesson.

“You- -speak- -us. Yixing-.” Yixing doesn’t understand what Mark’s saying, but Baekhyun should. Still, Baekhyun says nothing. Mark sighs and shakes his head, “-name? Age? -Yixing- -you?”

“Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun. -I’m sorry.” Baekhyun looks so much younger when he speaks, though he already looks as though he’s barely into his twentieth year if that. Yixing calls him a boy for a reason. Baekhyun ducks his head in apology and Mark grimaces. Yixing longs to soothe Baekhyun, urge his head out of its bow and ease the nervous frown of his face. It looks wrong, feels wrong. Baekhyun keeps his head bowed as he continues to speak, fingers fidgeting in his lap, “Master bought me- -sold- -whorehouse.”

Mark flinches. Yixing’s heard the stories of the friends Mark lost to the brothels, people he once knew and later found face down in a ditch. Humans are awful creatures, hurting those they demand service from. Baekhyun’s never going near another one of those places again. He will stay safe and cared for at Yixing’s side, where he is meant to be.

“Not master,” Yixing says slowly, “Yixing. I am Yixing.” Baekhyun is a slave no longer. He has no master. Yixing will teach him about his new station in life, someone precious and respected. Yixing will teach him everything there is to know, show him the world, if that is what he wants. And this is why they are here, why Jackson concedes to Mark’s wishes whenever he can. Yixing would buy Baekhyun a thousand flowers if it made the human smile.

Baekhyun finally lifts his head to stare at Yixing in confusion. There’s suspicion in his eyes. More than likely, no one has ever show this boy an ounce of kindness in his life. There will be a day where he knows nothing but kindness; Yixing will destroy any vermin that dares to show him anything but.

Mark pulls the key to Yixing’s room from his pocket and hands it to Baekhyun, dropping it into the human’s lap when he refuses to take it. Baekhyun’s entire body tenses and Yixing’s fingers move of their own accord to rub circles into the skin they can reach. Slaves are not supposed to be acknowledged before their masters, but Baekhyun will be Yixing’s partner, equal to him in every aspect. He has as much right to the key as Yixing himself.

“Baekhyun,” Jackson walks forward with eyes narrowed in curiosity, “-want Yixing- -hold?”

Baekhyun’s jaw drops open and his eyes flit nervously from Yixing to Jackson. Both are obviously of high rank, people to be obeyed in every situation. Why is he so nervous? He did not tell Yixing to stop and so should not be afraid of angering either man. “I-I… No, I do not. I’m sorry.”

Irritation begins to build in Yixing’s chest, anger towards himself for failing his human. Baekhyun never said _no_ but he never said _yes_ either. The demon eases Baekhyun to the ground and focuses on the surprise on the boy’s face instead of his own anger. Yixing keeps one arm at Baekhyun’s waist until he’s sure the human’s legs won’t fail but steps away as he gets his feet under him.

Baekhyun bows his head again, “Thank you, master.”

“Yixing.”

Baekhyun stares. Yixing is master of no one. He doesn’t want to be thanked either, not when he is the one at fault, but it is a matter he can leave for another time. The bruise-like circles under Baekhyun’s eyes take precedence over everything. The boy must be so tired. “Baekhyun sleep?” Yixing can’t remember the word for ‘tired’ but Baekhyun seems to understand all the same. He nods frantically and Jackson makes a low noise of surprise at the smile on Yixing’s face.

He cannot learn a language overnight nor can he ask Baekhyun to do the same, but he can fix this. Baekhyun can sleep until he no longer remembers what it means to be tired.

“We’ll see you when we head back to the inn, I presume,” Mark asks, switching back to their language for Yixing’s benefit, “Would you like us to bring dinner or are you going to ask Jongdae to make something?”

“I’ll likely ask Jongdae. He will know what foods Baekhyun is used to,” Baekhyun’s eyes light up at his name. He’s quite intelligent, isn’t he? Yixing wonders what is going through his human’s head, what Baekhyun will be able to learn once he realizes he has libraries upon libraries at his disposal. “Thank you for your assistance. Baekhyun, this way.” Yixing will never grow tired of saying that name, strange as it is on his tongue. He inclines his head for the boy to follow him and starts on the long walk towards the inn.

* * *

 

Yixing was right; Baekhyun’s legs are not strong enough. Judging by the sun, they’ve been walking less than hour but Baekhyun’s legs are trembling from the strain. They would have arrived at the inn already if Baekhyun had allowed Yixing to carry him, but the demon slowed his place to match that of his boy and now they’re less than halfway there.

Baekhyun yelps and Yixing turns just in time to watch him lose his footing on the dirt road. He tips forward onto the arm Yixing has waiting to catch him. Baekhyun’s entire weight is hanging off the demon’s arm and it’s not unlike carrying a bag back from the market. The human is too small, much too small.

“Okay,” Yixing asks once the boy finds his balance again. Red blooms in Baekhyun’s cheeks and the tips of his ears as he nods his head. He’s unmistakably the cutest thing Yixing’s ever seen. Yixing wants to rub his thumbs over Baekhyun’s ears, kiss his cheeks and feel the warmth. Would he blush that much more under Yixing’s attention? He’ll find out someday, but for now he just takes in the view and etches each detail into his memory.

Baekhyun is somehow slower after his misstep. Whether the few seconds off his feet threw off the rhythm that had kept him going or he’s just more cautious of each footfall, there’s no way to be certain. Yixing has never been a man of much patience and the little of it in his body belongs to Baekhyun, but even that has its limit.

“Wha-” Baekhyun bumps into Yixing as the demon crouches down in front of him.

Yixing twists to look him in the eye and tries not to let the disappointment show on his face when the human drops his gaze. “Yes? No?” Baekhyun does not want to be carried in his arms and Yixing will never go against Baekhyun’s wishes again but the boy’s legs are going to give up any moment. There is silence, seemingly unending silence, and then warmth settles against Yixing’s back. Baekhyun’s arms come to rest over his shoulders, circling around to hold on tight. Yixing does not allow himself to feel the shape of Baekhyun’s legs as he guides them to wrap around his waist. When he stands, Baekhyun’s weight balances effortlessly.

“Thank you,” the human whispers.

“You’re welcome, Baekhyun.” Is Baekhyun blushing again? Yixing can feel the heat of the human’s face on the back of his neck. “Sleep?” Baekhyun shakes his head and Yixing nearly shivers at the feeling of hair brushing the curve of his shoulder. Yixing knows Baekhyun is tired but leaves it be. Baekhyun will sleep if he wishes to.

The walk goes much faster with Baekhyun on his back, both in speed and in his own mind. Just as before, there’s a comfort to knowing that Baekhyun is safe and cared for in his hands. His legs still shake from where they’re cinched around Yixing, but the tremors slow when the demon hooks his hands under the boy’s knees and takes more of his weight. Yixing feels Baekhyun’s breathing slow against the nape of his neck. He pauses and waits for Baekhyun to tense or shift but the boy keeps breathing slow and easy, fingers twitching in his sleep.

Contentment settles in Yixing’s chest. Fate did well to give him this boy to care for. He tightens his grip on Baekhyun’s knees and continues walking. They can’t be more than a handful of minutes away from Jongdae’s inn, but Yixing slows his strides to keep them even and smooth. He will get Baekhyun to a proper bed soon; he will enjoy being the source of his human’s rest for now.

Jongdae looks up when Yixing enters the inn, mouth open to make some otherworldly screech, but he stops before he makes a sound to stare at Baekhyun. Confusion passes over his face, then realization. Terrifyingly perceptive. Yixing nods his head to the other demon in greeting before heading to his room. Baekhyun is beginning to wake from the noise of the inn and Yixing would like to ease him back to sleep. Jongdae keeps the inn relatively empty of humans to make sure there is always room for his fellow demons, but food is a necessity and humans come through more. The humans are also excessively loud.

The few demons sitting around the fireplace of the inn quiet as he passes. Yixing has never held any sort of love for a human, a fact in their underground world, it does not take a genius to know who the one sleeping so peacefully is to him. Namjoon, a terrifying telepath that Yixing would call an ally, nods respectfully and nudges Suga and their human, a rabbit-like little thing Yixing knows only as Kookie, to do the same.

Baekhyun shifts around but doesn’t wake before Yixing is able to get them to the peace and quiet of their room. He mumbles sleepily and whines when Yixing lowers him to the mattress, but his eyes stay stubbornly squeezed shut. Yixing feels a wave of affection that nearly takes him off his feet. Baekhyun is beautiful when he sleeps. Yixing pulls the blankets at the foot of the bed over his human and smiles when Baekhyun shifts and tugs them nearly up to his chin.

Yixing settles at his desk and watches Baekhyun’s sleep-slack face until the sun begins to set. He will have to ask Jongdae to cook something for the boy to eat but he cannot make his eyes stray from the rise and fall of Baekhyun’s chest or the way the human’s eyes flit around behind his eyelids. What is he dreaming of?

Baekhyun rolls over onto his stomach and rubs his face against the pillow, yawning and stretching like a kitten. The blankets slip down his body and he whines as he searches for the warmth again. Yixing has never moved faster in his existence than he does to pull the blankets back to their rightful place. The demon can’t see Baekhyun’s face when he sleeps like this and is able to focus on something else once the human is completely settled.

 _The Seventh day of the seventh month of the ninety-second year of the Great Ming Empire, Byun Baekhyun entered my care. He is who I have been searching for. We will return to Changsha by the end of the week._ Yifan has always mocked his meticulous records but Yixing will have forever a physical reminder of the exact day he was blessed with his human.

Baekhyun’s stomach rumbles in his sleep and Yixing is reminded of his own needs. He’s hungry and Baekhyun will likely be starving when he finally wakes. Yixing locks the door behind him and goes to find Jongdae, unable to keep his eyes off Baekhyun until the door closes in his face.

* * *

 

“He’s a little thing,” Jongdae says as he flits around the kitchen, sparks flying whenever he touches metal. Yixing has always wonder what it must be like to have a power like Jongdae’s, bottled lightning in his fingertips to be called forth whenever he needs it. There had been a time when he had wished for a power like that. Those with control over the elements are feared even by other demons. But Jongdae cannot heal Baekhyun’s every ache like Yixing can.

“He is.” Baekhyun is small, Yixing is not deluded about the size of his human. However small Baekhyun may be, he is perfectly sized to stay within Yixing’s protection. It is a blessing in his eyes.

“He’s not in worse shape than Mark was though.” Yixing knows. Yixing was there when Jackson met Mark and the human had been an overworked servant for some lord on his island, starving and slowly succumbing to the infection of the lashes on his back. Jackson hadn’t so much found Mark as he had literally stumbled across his unconscious body in the middle of the road, dehydrated and feverish and pitiful.

 Yixing had healed him in return for Jackson’s help in locating his own human. As tended to occur when dealing with Jackson, the seer had made good on his part of the deal in the most indirect way possible. Baekhyun’s sleeping face floats behind Yixing’s eyelids when he blinks and his mouth ticks up into the semblance of a smile. Yixing doesn’t remember ever smiling this much. It was never his intention, he just never had much reason to smile until now.

Jongdae stares at him where he’d been pulling a pot off a shelf in awe. The demon has always reminded him of a cat and it is only compounded when Jongdae’s mouth pulls into a smile that is utterly feline. “That human thing, it’s something else. Jackson has started to think before he speaks and now you are smiling. You’ll have to tell me what it was like to see him, Yixing.”

Yixing will do no such thing. That sense of peace and completion is his and his alone. And Baekhyun’s, if the human ever wishes to know. He has no secrets to keep from Baekhyun.

Yixing says nothing to Jongdae. It would be best not to upset the demon when he’s cooking for Baekhyun. Yixing trusts him more than he trusts most, but Baekhyun is a fragile thing and Yixing will not take a chance with Jongdae’s temper.

Time passes in comfortable silence. Jongdae had insisted on making simple food and Yixing could not see any reason to argue. “You should monitor how much he eats for the next few weeks,” Jongdae says as he passes Yixing two bowls of broth. Yixing pushes one back. Jongdae forgot to fill it all the way and Yixing has no intention of going hungry. “That one’s for your human, the full one’s for you.”

“He was starved,” Yixing stares at the other demon, unimpressed, “I have no intention of continuing that.” The broth is barely enough for a snack, much less an actual meal. Baekhyun’s bowl lacks the meat and vegetables of Yixing’s as well. Jongdae’s tendency to lie in the sun must have warped his mind. Baekhyun cannot live off this.

Jongdae sighs and pats Yixing’s hand like one would a small child. How much damage would a bowl across the skull do? He would heal Jongdae after, of course. “His body is used to less than this. I wouldn’t be surprised if this filled him up. You must slowly increase the amount of food he eats so his body can adjust. I’ve seen starved humans die because well-intentioned people gave them too much food too soon. Trust me, Yixing, I wish only to keep your human healthy and alive.”

 He is still uncertain of giving Baekhyun so little to eat, but Jongdae knows more about humans than any other demon that Yixing has met. He fancies himself a doctor, though Yixing thinks he’s more interested in seeing what makes the mortals break than healing them. Yixing is grateful regardless; humans are so much more fragile than he ever thought.

Jongdae picks up two pieces of meat from Yixing’s bowl and drops them into Baekhyun’s, “Is that more to your liking?” He smiles when Yixing nods. He lets out a breath of relief when the other demon’s smile is free of mischief. “Don’t push him to finish it all if he gets full. His body will know what he needs better than you or I.”

Yixing leaves with a nod of acknowledgement. Jongdae knows he is doing Yixing a favor, he does not need to add to his debt by thanking the other demon.

“Lay?” Yixing pulls any and every emotion back into his face and turns around. It's only Namjoon peeking around the door, but Yixing has long learned to stay withdrawn when someone calls that name. It is the wall between himself and those outside his circle. Humans call upon the demon Lay; most other demons only know him as the healing demon of Changsha. He prefers it that way. Yifan, Luhan, Mark, Jackson, and Jongdae, Yixing can count the people who know his true name on one hand. And now Baekhyun. Yixing is happy to count on two hands for his human.

"Namjoon?" How strange that he trusts Yixing with his name when Yixing will not share his own. Namjoon seems content, though Yixing is careful to only call him by Arem when Suga is near. He has heard the stories of Suga's strength, how he ripped a burning building in half to get to Kookie. Kookie is likely not the human's true name either, a secret kept even more closely guarded than Suga's own.

Demons choose such strange names. Arem, Suga, Lay. Jongdae goes by Chen whenever he visits the empire and Yifan killed the last human that thought themselves important enough to call him anything but Kris. Identities are sacred. Humans cannot seek revenge if they don’t know who they’re tracking.

Yixing should tell Namjoon his true name someday, if for nothing else than to appease him. He prefers the telepath as an ally.

"I just came to congratulate you. It's not every day a friend finds his human." Namjoon settles his weight against the door and nearly falls when it swings out from under him. "So sorry, Chen, I didn't harm the door, did I?"

"It's fine," Jongdae shoves it back into place, "Kai does much worse and is much more intrusive than you." The demon who jumps through the world at will. Yixing can only imagine what damage he would do if he had the power to appear at will. Choosing where he goes does not mean he knows where he will appear. The cracks in the wooden counter make much more sense.

Namjoon shuffles into the kitchen. Yixing will never understand how someone so tall can make himself seem so small. Suga has always been the more dominant of the two. Yixing respects that. "If there is anything Suga or I can do to make your human's transition easier, please do not hesitate to ask. Kookie's transition was... not ideal and it would be rude of me to not offer my assistance to make your human's go as smoothly as possible. Kookie would enjoy having another human to talk about our world with as well."

"I will keep that in mind." Namjoon would know if he did not; the telepath has a habit of looking into others' minds without permission. Once again, Yixing respects that. "Thank you for your congratulations and I appreciate your offer."

Namjoon ducks his head with a grin. "My pleasure!" And then they stand in complete silence. Jongdae busies himself with the dishes. If not for Namjoon standing in front of him, unendingly friendly, Yixing would have already taken his leave. The conversation is over, they have nothing more to say. And still Namjoon blocks his path.

"I would like to pass, if you don't mind," Yixing lifts the soup bowls in emphasis. For a demon who can read minds, Namjoon can be horribly oblivious.

"Oh, oh, of course. My apologies, I wouldn't want to keep him from his dinner. He's a little thing, isn't he?" Though it is only the second time he's heard it, Yixing is quickly growing tired of it. Namjoon isn't wrong, Baekhyun is noticeably skinny, but Yixing will take care of him. Baekhyun will begin to heal, and this meal is just the beginning.

Yixing steps out of the kitchen with a curt goodbye when Namjoon finally steps out of his way. Suga and Kookie are waiting outside but they are, as Yixing has come to expect and appreciate, too engaged with each other to even notice his passing.

Baekhyun is sitting up in bed when Yixing opens the door. He rubs at his eyes and yawns so widely his jaw pops. Yixing has never seen anything so wonderful. Baekhyun jumps when he sees Yixing in the doorway. Then his eyes drop to the bowls in Yixing's hands and stay there.

"Food," he asks in a voice so soft and hopeful. Yixing nods and settles on the edge of the bed. Baekhyun takes his bowl in shaky hands and starts to drink it down before Yixing can give him the spoon. A good portion of the meager contents of the bowl end up on his face and Yixing just barely restrains himself from wiping the smears of soup away. Baekhyun is panting when he puts the bowl down. Yixing is utterly mesmerized by the slip of Baekhyun's pink tongue darting out to catch the last few drops.

He steals all of Yixing's focus. It's not even until he catches his breath and looks over at Yixing's bowl that the demon remembers his own hunger. He hasn't eaten all day but it is only Jongdae's warning that stops him from handing his dinner over to Baekhyun. He wants to give Baekhyun anything and everything he desires.

Yixing meets his gaze and Baekhyun drops his head and stares at the sheets. Shame? Fear? It becomes more and more clear that he will have to teach Baekhyun that there will never be a need for those feelings with Yixing. "Food?"

Baekhyun looks up and Yixing's mind narrows down to the pretty curve of his open mouth. His hair bounces when he nods his head "Please," he whispers.

Jongdae's warning stays with him as he spoons some of his own soup into Baekhyun's bowl. Not too much, just enough to replace what he got all over his face. Baekhyun drinks it with the same endless hunger he had before. Yixing eats what he can before Baekhyun is done; if Baekhyun looks at his bowl with that same hopeful, hungry tilt to his mouth he'll be helpless to do anything but give him more.

Yixing feels a good deal calmer now. Baekhyun has food in his belly and the bruises under his eyes are a little lighter. He has provided for his boy, like he should. Now Yixing notices the dirt on his face, and his hands, and his arms, and in his hair. Baekhyun is filthy. There are smudges of dirt left behind on the bowl, perfect prints of his hands. Yixing reaches out and can feel the dust and oil on the pillowcase. Baekhyun turns to watch Yixing's hand and his body tenses.

"I'm sorry." Baekhyun tucks his hands into his lap and curls in on himself like he's afraid to touch anything else.

"No sorry. No bad." Yixing would hunt down the vermin that hurt him if Baekhyun asked. The boy shouldn't harbor this much shame in his body. "Baekhyun good." Baekhyun looks up at him with those will-shattering eyes and Yixing wants to wash the dirt from his skin, the filth from his hair, and the pain from face. He is a rarity, something that only Yixing will ever have the pleasure of having and holding.

He should know that. Yixing will make sure he knows that.

"-bath please, master?"

"Yixing." Baekhyun blinks and fear blooms behind his eyes. Softer, Yixing must remember to be softer with his human. "Yixing," he says and touches his chest, "Yixing." Baekhyun nods, eyes on the floor as he ducks his head in shame. That’s not how this is supposed to go. Yixing tips Baekhyun’s chin up until the boy looks him in the eye, “Baekhyun is good.” Yixing is not known for his gentle nature, but for Baekhyun he will try. He kisses the boy’s forehead and tries not to retch at the dirt under his lips. Baekhyun needs a bath. “Bath now,” he says as he jerks his head toward the door.  

The human scrambles to get out of the bed fast enough, yelping when his legs tangle in the sheets and nearly send him to the ground. Yixing reaches over and works his skinny legs free. Baekhyun stills at the touch and Yixing lets his fingertips linger against Baekhyun’s skin. His lower legs are so thin Yixing’s fingers nearly overlap on the other side. “You poor thing,” he murmurs, “you will never know what hunger feels like again.”

Baekhyun’s pretty brow furrows in confusion. Yixing longs for the day when his human can understand his language. The things he will tell Baekhyun when that day comes. The things he hopes Baekhyun will tell him. He has heard how his language sounds in Jongdae’s voice, accent perfected after years of practice to fit in with the court. He has never known excitement like that filling his chest as he imagines Baekhyun stumbling through words, letting Yixing walk him through each and every character.

He should let Baekhyun go now, shouldn’t he? Baekhyun yanks his leg to his chest the moment Yixing lets go. He tries not to let the relief in Baekhyun’s eyes hurt. He doesn’t like being touched much either, though he enjoys the feeling of Baekhyun under his hands. Trust is something precious, something earned. Yixing will willingly spend the rest of eternity earning Baekhyun’s trust.

Yixing leaves Baekhyun to get out of bed on his own and gathers a set of his own underclothes. They’re much too big for his human, but he needs something to replace the rags Baekhyun is in. The image of Baekhyun being dwarfed in his clothing is not undesirable either. He’ll get Baekhyun his own clothing when they return to Changsha, once he’s gained enough weight that Yixing can no longer see each and every piece of his backbone when his clothing rides up.

Yixing ushers him out the door with a hand on his shoulder. He knows Baekhyun wants space, but his chest feels hollow when he’s not stroking his fingertips down Baekhyun’s arm or smoothing the boy’s dirty hair away from his face. It’s not right for him to be without Baekhyun yet, not when he is so close and so beautiful.

Baekhyun doesn’t seem to mind being walked through the inn. His eyes are as wide and round as the full moon and he makes noises of awe at every painting or other decoration they pass. Yixing has always admired Jongdae’s eye for beauty, though he never had much need for it himself. Still, if Baekhyun is as enamored with these paintings as it appears, Yixing supposes that his estate could use more art.

“Dog,” Baekhyun whispers, stopping in his tracks and nearly tripping Yixing. Yixing huffs a breath through his nose and only just stops himself from kissing Baekhyun’s temple. The ugliest painting Jongdae owns and Baekhyun stares at it as though it’s beauty incarnate. Jongdae bought it as a joke, a bet between him and Yifan to see how long he could stand it hanging in his room. It took three days for Jongdae drag the thing into the main hall of the inn and leave it to gather dust.

Would Jongdae mind if Baekhyun took it off his hands? Yixing would reimburse whatever he paid, of course; the corners of Baekhyun’s mouth are curling into a smile, Yixing would give anything to keep that joy on his face. “Good,” he asks.

Baekhyun turns to him and nods, “Pretty.” Yes, his human certainly is.

Jongdae is lazing in front of the fireplace when they pass by. He looks like he’s sleeping at first, but Yixing can see him weaving lightning between his fingers, streaks of blue light jumping from hand to hand. He cracks an eye open when Baekhyun gasps. A low wave of guilt washes over Yixing as he watches Baekhyun’s entire body tense but it’s drowned out by the hum of pleasure and affection when the human jumps backward into his chest. He should have asked for Namjoon’s help in explaining their kind, but a small part of him is glad he didn’t if only to have this opportunity to wrap an arm around Baekhyun’s middle and play the guardian.

Jongdae says something in Baekhyun’s language too fast for Yixing to catch and smiles mischievous and teasing. Baekhyun presses further into Yixing as the lightning flashes brighter and races up and around Jongdae’s arm. The lightning jumps out toward them, striking Yixing in the shoulder. It’s not much more painful than a bee sting and Yixing doesn’t even flinch, but the light and sudden heat makes Baekhyun whimper and squeeze his eyes shut.

“Chen,” Yixing snarls. The shock and fear that comes with discovering demons is a given, but Yixing will not let anyone frighten his human for fun. Jongdae sighs, smirk still playing at the edges his mouth, and lets the lightning blink out of existence. He’s always been one for jokes, though neither he nor Luhan could tell when to draw the line.

“He’s fine, just a little spooked,” Jongdae sits up and lets a real smile spread across his face. It falls in seconds. Baekhyun still hasn’t opened his eyes. Yixing lets the hand resting on his belly drift towards his chest and feels the human’s heart beating rabbit-quick, breaths shallow and stuttering. “Oh, I didn’t mean to…”

Yixing ducks his head to whisper in Baekhyun’s ear, voice low enough that even Jongdae can’t hear, “Baekhyun okay?” Baekhyun takes a shuddering breath and nods, eyes cracking open. He allows himself a soft kiss against the tip of Baekhyun’s ear and loosens his hold on Baekhyun’s waist.

Yixing remembers Mark being just as terrified when he woke up to the demon healing the last of the lashes on his back. Humans have never adapted well to things they don’t understand, but he is proud of how easily Baekhyun swallows down his fear and steps out of Yixing’s arms.

“I’m sorry.” There’s something endlessly gratifying in the way Baekhyun brightens at the sound of his language. Even when Jongdae is the one speaking, the cause of that energy, Yixing finds peace in the way Baekhyun seems to come to life. It’s so satisfying that his notoriously short patience doesn’t once complain at the way Jongdae launches into an explanation; the expressions Baekhyun makes as he listens is more than entertaining enough to keep his attention.

He doesn’t understand what Jongdae is saying, but Baekhyun is nodding along, hair flopping with each jerky motion. It’s almost uncannily similar to the puppies the court members always carry with them. Yixing knows the man who sells them, if only through mutual acquaintances, perhaps Baekhyun would like one.

“Thank you,” Baekhyun bows lowly, so lowly that Yixing nearly grabs his arm to stop him from pitching forward, “-thank you!” When he straightens up again, Yixing finds that he has a new favorite view. Baekhyun’s smile could bring the entirety of the dynasty to ruin. It has ruined Yixing already.

Jongdae bows in return, though not as low, “You’re welcome.”

Yixing gently nudges Baekhyun towards the bathing area and the human scurries to the door. As much as he has enjoyed this moment, Jongdae will still be here when Baekhyun is clean. Yixing is unashamed to admit that he is envious of the other demon for how easily he coaxed something other than fear out of Baekhyun. It may take weeks, maybe months, before he is the cause of that smile. Jongdae waves them off and goes back to lazing in front of the fire, humming as lightning races up and down his arms.

He knows Baekhyun can clean himself. He knows the human is not incompetent, but he can’t help himself from settling next to him in the water with a cloth in hand. It’s the hollow of Baekhyun’s stomach that makes him hover. He knew Baekhyun had been starved, could feel it through his clothes, but it’s something else entirely to see it. He can count each and every rib. It’s painful in a way Yixing has never known before. He has wanted to care for Baekhyun since first meeting him, but this urge to keep him close and coddled is overwhelming.

It’s why he rubs the cloth across Baekhyun’s shoulders and asks, “Okay?” Baekhyun chews on his bottom lip and begins to curl in on himself but nods. As if Yixing is too stupid to read the discomfort in his human’s body. Someday, Yixing prays, someday Baekhyun will be able to tell him no, tell him yes and actually mean it. For now, he pulls his hand away with a low sigh and pushes down the disappointment. This for Baekhyun, solely for Baekhyun.

Panic floods Baekhyun’s entire being. “It’s okay! Okay! Okay!” He grabs Yixing’s hand and pulls it back to his shoulder. Yixing feels the seconds tick by as his world narrows down to Baekhyun’s fingers wrapped around his wrist. Baekhyun is touching him of his own accord. He hadn’t expected Baekhyun to feel this comfortable with him yet but he’ll adapt with pleasure. But then Baekhyun’s eyes grow wide and he pulls his hand away like Yixing burned him, tears dribbling down his cheeks.  “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“No bad,” Yixing eases closer, “Okay. No bad.” How close is too close? He can’t trust Baekhyun to tell him to stop. He comes only close enough to wipe the tears from Baekhyun’s face and then forces himself to stop. It would be so easy to move in closer, pull Baekhyun into his arms give him all the comfort and warmth Yixing has in him.

But Baekhyun flinches at the barest touch of Yixing’s fingertips against his cheek; he doesn’t want to be touched. It has been beaten into him to obey, to allow others to do whatever they want with his body. Yixing has already wronged his human once, he will _not_ do it again.

And so he hands Baekhyun the cloth, takes the human’s hand and curls his fingers around it when Baekhyun tries to give it back. “Yixing no. Baekhyun yes.” He can feel Baekhyun watching him when he turns away and grabs another rag to wash himself. It’s only the dirt and dust from the market, nothing that couldn’t wait until the morning when he prefers to bathe, but Baekhyun seems more at ease when Yixing shifts his attention to himself.

The dirt on the water is impossible to miss though. The more Baekhyun cleans himself, the darker the water gets. Yixing didn’t know that it was possible for someone to be so dirty, and yet Baekhyun has colored the water around him such a murky brown that it’s as though he brought entire market with him and he hasn’t even finished cleaning his upper body. Jongdae’s not going to be pleased about that. Blush spreads across Baekhyun’s cheeks and he tries to move into cleaner water, but more and more dirt floats off as he moves.

Yixing pulls himself out of the water before the dirt can reach reach him. Baekhyun ducks his head under the water in embarrassment and comes back up looking ridiculous, like a half-drowned dog with his hair plastered to his head. A laugh bubbles out of Yixing’s mouth before he can feel it coming. Less than a day and Baekhyun has already brought him more joy than most things do in weeks.

It takes less time than Yixing had thought for Baekhyun to finish cleaning himself. He had expected, _wanted_ , the human to take his time. If he’d just wanted Baekhyun clean he could have used the basin in his room; this was for Baekhyun to relax and enjoy. It would have helped if Yixing could figure out how to tell him as much. As is, he’s done before Yixing can finish drying himself, stepping out of the water clean but looking no more relaxed than he had before.

Yixing goes to hand him a dry cloth, eyes never straying below his shoulders out of respect, when he discovers the dirt revealed more than just tan skin. How could one human accumulate that many scratches? They’re not the wounds left behind from whips or sticks or anything else masters use to beat their slaves, Yixing has healed enough of the pitiful creatures to know. It’s as though he fell into a thorn bush back first and then decided it would be fun to roll around in it.

Baekhyun starts to take the cloth from his hand but notices his stare and blushes, tips of his ears going pink. He touches the closest scratch, long and nasty down his upper arm, winces, and then pretends to fall forward. So he did fall, down a hill if Yixing had to guess. He’ll have to check Baekhyun for other scratches after he heals these. He should have done that earlier, how did he not remember sooner? He won’t forget to look for injuries again. Humans are so fragile, Baekhyun could have been dead because of his inattention.

“Baekhyun,” Yixing calls as he settles himself on the ground and pats the space in front of him. Baekhyun wraps the dry linen around his waist and settles across from him. Not what Yixing wanted exactly, but he’s close enough for Yixing to heal.

The human flinches when Yixing settles a hand against the scratch on his arm. Yixing takes an inordinate amount of pleasure watching Baekhyun’s jaw drop open as the skin knits itself together when he lets his power leak out of his fingertips. He doesn’t know if Baekhyun means to, but he leans forward into his hands.

“Okay?”

Baekhyun nods, no hesitation. Yixing gestures for Baekhyun to come just a bit closer. If finding Baekhyun was a miracle, then it’s an act of divine intervention when Baekhyun scoots between Yixing’s spread legs and offers the entirety of his scratched-up back when Yixing moves to touch. The wonder and awe on the human’s face warms Yixing from the inside out. Most see his power and are filled with greed and thoughts of how to use him like a tool; Baekhyun looks as though he’s filled to the brim with questions, treats Yixing’s healing as a gift and not a right.  It’s odd in that way, how the one person is entitled to his power doesn’t see it that way.

The room is all but silent, Baekhyun’s quiet sighs of relief echoing off the walls. His eyelids start to flutter shut when Yixing heals the deepest of the scratches that run from one shoulder blade to the other. Yixing has never had a firsthand experience with pain as his body heals before he can feel it when injured, but Yifan and Luhan have told him that pain relief is one of the single most relaxing things they’ve ever felt.

They must have been telling the truth, because Baekhyun eyes slip closed and he starts to tilt further into Yixing’s arms. Yixing catches him and attempts to push him to sit by himself. What is he supposed to do? He should wake Baekhyun up, shouldn’t he? Baekhyun has made it painfully clear that he doesn’t want to be held. But the human is still so tired and Yixing could get to the few cuts on his arms and legs so much easier if Baekhyun was asleep. He lets Baekhyun tip backward into him and lets fate decide. If Baekhyun wakes on his own, Yixing will let him go. If he doesn’t, he’ll be rearranged to sleep more comfortably and Yixing will finish healing.

Jongdae comes in later to check on them and Yixing cracks an eye open. Baekhyun is still fast asleep against his chest, wrapped in Yixing’s linen and his own for blankets. Every scratch Yixing could find has been healed into nothingness, not even the hint of a scar left behind. Jongdae grins wide and winks. Still, he softly closes the door and leaves them alone without a word. Yixing drops his head against Baekhyun’s and his mind drifts to the feel of Baekhyun’s soft, damp hair against his cheek. His precious human, he’ll care for him from here until eternity.


	2. Act 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow it's been a long time since I updated this but I'm very very excited to get back to it! I also gotta update the tags...woops. Thank you guys for being so patient and supporting this fic even though it's been my little goblin child sitting in a cave, unloved since late May.
> 
> As always, thank you [Aarushi](https://twitter.com/AarushiC_18) for being my beta :D this story would truly be a dumpster fire without here, especially next chapter hahah

Yixing has found a new way to pass time since arriving back to his estate in Changsha. Life was so dull and monotonous before Baekhyun. Make his rounds of the estate, respond to any notices from the palace, answer the humans calling upon him that he deems worthy of healing, and then spend the rest of the day reading, or checking his records, or entertaining Yifan, Luhan, or Jongdae if they happen to be passing by. It has been two weeks since their return from Incheon and Yixing cannot remember what boredom felt like.

Baekhyun is so curious, exploring every corner of every room. Yixing keeps the door to his study open so that he can watch his human wander the halls. Baekhyun has his own room not far from Yixing's, but the servants say that he's never there.

Jongdae had been kind enough to translate Yixing's words that Baekhyun was to have absolute free reign of the estate. There was no room that Baekhyun isn’t allowed to enter. Yixing will never have anything to hide from the boy; all that is Yixing's is now Baekhyun's as well.

Baekhyun had been cautious the first few days, rarely leaving his room or Yixing's side. Yixing left him in the garden by himself one day and then Baekhyun was impossible to keep contained. He ended up in Yixing's rooms a few times before a servant found him and told him exactly where he was. Yixing didn't mind, of course. Baekhyun is welcome in his rooms whenever he likes.

"Yixing?" Yixing looks up from a letter from Yifan congratulating him on finding Baekhyun and announcing his arrival in three weeks. Baekhyun is standing in the doorway, shuffling from foot to foot nervously. He can't help but notice how much healthier Baekhyun looks now, there's color in his cheeks and the dips between his ribs are slowly starting to fill with a healthy layer of fat. His beautiful human, growing stronger every day.

"I'm sorry," Baekhyun says and ducks his head. Yixing has been teaching him the language of the dynasty since the ride home. He only knows a few words, mostly animals that Yixing pointed out to him, but Baekhyun has learned enough to make the most basic needs known.

"Why?"

Baekhyun pulls his hands out from behind his back and presents his shame, an azalea. He must have plucked one of them from the garden. Yixing cannot fathom why he'd feel so ashamed and then he sees the head servant walk behind him. Yixing makes it clear to each new servant he hires that his azaleas were not to be touched. He thought he also made it clear that Baekhyun can do whatever he pleases. Which one reprimanded him? He'll have to ask the head servant later.

"It's okay. Baekhyun and flowers are good." Luhan would mock him endlessly if he heard Yixing butcher their language like this. But Baekhyun cannot understand full sentences yet, and his comfort is far more important than Yixing's own.

"Not bad," Baekhyun asks. His fingers fidget with the stem, he always moves when he gets nervous. It's an odd habit, endearing, but strange. Yixing nods and Baekhyun smiles, bowing and wandering back out of the room to discover something else.

Yixing will have to take him to see Luhan's house in Beijing soon. The other demon collects baubles on his travels that he'd probably let Baekhyun look at. Maybe he should guide Baekhyun towards his room of gifts from the numerous human dignitaries he's healed over the years. There are bound to be things he'll like there as well.

For now, Yixing turns back to Yifan's letter and tries to keep his mind from drifting back to his sweet Baekhyun.

_Lay,_

_I'm glad to hear you've found your human. I am eager to meet him when I come to visit. Is it true that he actually likes that painting from Chen? If so, I believe Luhan would be more than happy to let him rummage through his collection of things. It has grown massively since you last saw it. I will arrive in three weeks’ time, close to the end of the week. Has your human ever seen the sea? I found some shells not too long ago that I have no use for that he may like. Let me know before I leave._

_Kris_

Always so soft. Yixing will never understand how Yifan can give and give and give. That’s not entirely true now though; he would – _he will_ – give everything within his power to Baekhyun. Yixing reaches into one of the drawers of his desk and pulls out a small pouch of seeds that Jongdae had given him before he left Incheon. They’re not the easiest plants to grow, nor is he excited about the work it will take to find a place for them in the garden, but it will be well worth it when Baekhyun sees that he has some of Jongdae’s pretty blue flowers as his own.

Yixing slips them back into the drawer for when winter has passed. The changing of the seasons used to be so inconsequential, just different variations of the same day over and over. Yixing never thought to take so much joy in the leaves falling from the trees until he saw Baekhyun picking out his favorite to add to his collection of things. He allowed Yixing into his room once to see it and what had started as three pretty rocks from the river bed not far from Jongdae’s inn has turned into a record of every interesting flower, leaf, and pebble that Baekhyun finds on his wanderings.

Yixing turns in his chair and feels his entire being calm. When is he ever not calm now, though? Just the knowledge that Baekhyun is somewhere in the house, exploring his new world, gives him a sense of peace he never thought possible. Baekhyun is lying in the garden just outside his window, watching the clouds pass by.

Yixing finds him sleeping there more often than not. Even now, Baekhyun’s eyes start slipping closed and Yixing loses himself in the pout of his lips, the curve of his nose. There is no human in the world as captivating as Baekhyun, of that Yixing is sure. His records have taken a turn for the trivial, his daily logs consisting only of what Baekhyun did that day, how he’s growing and healing and learning.

"Flower,” Baekhyun says as he holds the azalea in front of his face, “Floooowerrr.” It’s not perfect and his accent is nearly unintelligible but he tries so hard with each and every word he learns. Yixing likes to hear him say ‘puppy’ the most. It’s rare that he speaks when he knows Yixing’s around, but it seems he hasn’t quite figured out that the spot of the garden he loves to sleep is in the same corner as Yixing’s study so Yixing gets to hear his sweet voice as he practices his words.

He goes back to Yifan’s letter and drafts a quick, short response.

_Kris,_

_We will be expecting you. He will like the shells; thank you for your thoughtfulness._

_Lay_

Anything more and Yifan would believe the letter was written by an imposter. Yixing has never been fond of long letters with pretty, fancy words. They take too long to say what they mean and it’s always hard to tell if they mean what they say. Why use six words where one will do?

It’s the same idea he uses with Baekhyun. One of the lords from the palace got news that he had acquired a ‘plaything’ from Incheon and had been very clear about his interest in having a proper _meeting_ with Baekhyun. Yixing tracked down the loose tongue in his estate and had it silenced, but not before burning the letter and watching it go up in smoke. When Baekhyun asked why, sweet eyes and furrowed brows saying more than his mouth could, there were many words Yixing could have used to tell him. He could have called the lord a useless little worm that he would enjoying watching meet his inevitable end. He could have said that someone tried to encroach upon Baekhyun, _Yixing’s_ Baekhyun. Instead, he had simply said, “ _Letter was bad._ ” And Baekhyun nodded and sat with him in front of the fire when he patted the ground next to him.

“Mark and Jackson. Jackson and Mark,” Baekhyun repeats and works through the new sounds in his mouth, “Baekhyun and flower. Flower and Baekhyun.” Yixing sets his letter off to the side and allows himself to relax, Baekhyun’s voice ringing in his ears. “Yixing and flower. Flower and Baekhyun. Baekhyun no is bad. Baekhyun is good.” He has finally found himself a bit of free time, and he knows exactly how he wants to spend it. “Baekhyun and Yixing is good.”

* * *

 

The market in Incheon is a sanctuary compared to the nightmare Yixing is standing in now. The humans bustle around him; they’re like little ants, crawling all over each other and everything in sight. One crashes into Yifan with a snarl and the demon has to take a deep breath to calm himself down. It had been his idea to come here in the first place and now he’s trying to slip backwards out of the crowd. Idiot.

He’s too tall, not enough blood in his body to make sure his head is working right. Then again, Yixing agreed to come, so maybe there’s something wrong with him as well. But Yixing knows exactly why he agreed to come and it’s anything but a fault. Baekhyun had been so excited about the market this morning. Surprising, considering his history with markets, but he had turned to Yixing with a hopeful smile and Yixing agreed before he could stop himself.

Now, Baekhyun is tucked against his chest, safe from the push and pull of the crowd and clinging to Yixing’s sleeve. It’s the only good part of this trip so far.

“Do you wish to go home?” Baekhyun shakes his head and worries the fabric in his hands. Pride unfurls in his chest like the wings of the butterflies Baekhyun’s started raising in the garden outside Yixing’s study. Baekhyun understands a good deal of what Yixing and the servants say now, even if he can’t say much in return. Yixing has Jongdae to thank for that.

A letter had been waiting on his desk when he entered his study one morning. It was signed in Jongdae’s handwriting but Jongdae, to Yixing’s knowledge, was still in Incheon. Kai must have delivered it in the night when no one would see him appear and disappear, likely to pay for destroying Jongdae’s kitchen. Jongdae accumulates more favors than Yixing can fathom; it’s one of his most admirable traits as an acquaintance. Jongdae had said in his letter that Baekhyun would never learn how to speak his language if Yixing didn’t start speaking to him more like a person and less like a particularly stupid dog. Yixing doesn’t slow or simplify his speech at all anymore and Baekhyun has been reaping the rewards.

Yifan steps in front of Yixing and blocks a human that would have run into Baekhyun. “Have I mentioned how much I hate the city? The markets back home are never this crowded.” Yixing knows. He has visited Yifan before and never fails to enjoy the quiet near the sea. There are less humans near Yifan – and the ones that do live there keep to themselves. If Yixing wasn’t so involved with the nobles and diplomats he would pack up everything he owns and move to the coast. Maybe in a few decades, when this dynasty ends and he fades back into relative obscurity, he will build a little house just for him and Baekhyun near the sea.

What a life that would be. Peace, quiet, the sea, and Baekhyun.

“I don’t like the city much myself,” Yixing says and scans the stalls for something that might interest Baekhyun. Yifan does the same. Making Baekhyun smile, it’s why they’re here – it’s why Yixing has been scouring his garden for just the right leaves for caterpillars to eat and why he has a leaf with four little cocoons sitting on the sunny corner of his desk.

Yixing sees a familiar jewelry stand and herds Baekhyun towards it with a gentle nudge. He was never one to wear jewelry but he appreciates the time and skill Yiqi puts into her work. She has created a few of his favorite pieces, some that Baekhyun himself has shown interest in. Her prices are fair for the work she does but still more expensive than most of the humans around this area can afford. He asked her once why she hadn’t moved to the market outside the palace; all the nobles, including the emperor’s first wife, were fond of her work and would happily visit her stall daily if she lived closer. She could be making a small fortune.

_“The people I love are here – my daughter just had her first son. The lords and ladies have no issue coming to me, so why should I go to them and leave my loved ones behind? Besides, Lord Lay, how else am I supposed to make sure you have something nice to wear when you visit the palace?”_

“Yiqi,” Yixing calls, “good afternoon.” Yiqi bows and her eyebrows raise when she sees Baekhyun. She knows Yifan well enough from his visits that his appearance isn’t a shock.

“Lord Lay. Lord Kris. It is nice to see you both. And…?”

“I am Baekhyun!”

Yixing hides his smile in Baekhyun’s hair. What his human lacks in understanding spoken language, he more than makes up for in understanding body language. He was able to understand that a visiting lady was asking for his name before Yixing. He hasn’t yet learned how to introduce himself formally but there is never a question as to who he is.

Understanding passes on Yiqi’s face. Yixing knows that the news of Lord Lay’s new companion has spread, though only the servants knew his name or face. And the servants kept that information to themselves for fear of their tongues; Yixing made sure of it.

“It is lovely to meet you, Lord Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun shakes his head, nose scrunching as he searches for the words, “I am not ‘lord’. I am Baekhyun. I say right?” Yixing has tried to explain Baekhyun’s new station in life to him but it seems to fall on deaf ears. Baekhyun knows where he stands in Yixing’s eyes though, and that’s all that Yixing can hope for at this point.

“Yes, you said it correctly. Well done,” Yixing whispers and Baekhyun smiles. “Yiqi, you may call him Baekhyun if you wish. He doesn’t like to be called anything else – but keep his name to yourself.” Yiqi nods and bows, lips curling into the mere hint of a smile. “See if there is anything you like. And Kris, do not feel as though you have to stay with us. I know you wanted to see if there were any stone carvers.”

Yiqi’s eyes light up, “Stone carving? I hope I am not overstepping my bounds, Lord Kris, but I have done a good deal of stone carving in my time as craftswoman – I may be of some assistance to you. I also know of some stone carvers the emperor calls upon from time to time.” Yifan pulls the sack he’s been carrying on his back around and sets it on her counter and shows her the stones he brought with him, detailing exactly what he’d like done with them.

Yixing turns his attention away from their conversation. It’s none of his business and he truly does not care what Yifan does with his own possessions. Instead, he watches Baekhyun scuttle forward and look at all the jewelry Yiqi has to offer.

“Look,” he whispers, tugging on Yixing’s sleeve, “Like home, right? Yix- Lay has in home?” Yixing hums. It’s a piece of gold twisted into the shape of rose with a white gem in the center. Yixing has a few just like it, though he prefers darker colors for the centerpieces. He wore one the day Yifan arrived. It’s in Baekhyun’s care now, probably hiding somewhere among the other baubles Yixing gives him. He reminds Yixing of a magpie, hiding all the shiny things he comes across safe in his nest.

“Yes, it’s like the one I gave you. Do you remember?”

Baekhyun nods furiously, “I keep in room. Safe.”

Yixing leans in close and presses a barely-there kiss to the back of his ear. Baekhyun startles but doesn’t pull away. He’s done it before when Yixing pushed in too close. The one thing that Yixing has hammered into Baekhyun’s skull is that he has a choice – will _always_ have a choice. If he doesn’t want Yixing’s touch then he can pull away, he can say _no_. Baekhyun doesn’t do it often. Maybe because he’s still afraid of what will happen if he goes against Yixing or maybe because he does not mind the affection. Yixing wishes with his entire being that it’s the latter.

“Thank you for taking such good care of it,” he murmurs, “I know you always take such good care of your things.” Baekhyun doesn’t have many things that he actually owns. He has leaves and old butterfly cocoons and pretty rocks, and he has the painting from Jongdae and the few things he accepted from Yixing, but nothing of his own. Baekhyun owns nothing that was not owned by someone else first.

Yixing plans to change that today.

Baekhyun leaves the roses alone and comes to a rest in front of – Yixing does not actually know what the little golden creatures are supposed to be. “What are it,” Baekhyun asks. Yixing shrugs and turns to Yiqi to ask, but the woman is still in deep conversation with Yifan. He tries to get her attention with a tilt of his head; Yiqi won’t look up from the blue stone in her hand to notice. Yixing sighs through his nose and steps away from Baekhyun to get Yiqi’s attention.

He only looks away for a moment. Half a moment. But Baekhyun screams. Yixing’s neck cracks from the speed when he turns his head and it’s likely he just snapped his own neck. It heals before he has time to register the damage but his vision blacks out for a moment, just a moment, but Baekhyun is gone when the world rushes back.

Baekhyun is gone and Yixing doesn’t know where he is. He weaves through the crowd, eyes searching for dark blue robes and shaggy black hair, but Baekhyun is nowhere in sight. Yifan calls for him; Yiqi calls for him. There’s nothing they can say to bring him back. He can’t find Baekhyun.

Panic sets in, a wild, angry, desperate thing in his chest. Yixing will tear this market apart – he will tear the _world_ into pieces to find Baekhyun. He feels himself teeter on the cliff’s edge of control. Humanity slips out of his fingers. He forgets to blend in; he forgets about everything. He’s going to wake up with Baekhyun in his arms and corpses on his trail –

_“Yixing!”_

Yixing doesn’t think. He just moves. He knows Baekhyun’s voice like his own heartbeat in his chest and his human sounds so scared. Yixing will fix it. Yixing will always fix it.

“ _Yixing! Yix-”_ Baekhyun cuts off mid-word but Yixing can hear his voice bouncing off the walls of an alley. He’s so close. Yixing darts down the alley and the world tilts back into place – somewhat.

Terror. Yixing has seen Baekhyun afraid. Baekhyun was afraid nearly every minute of the day those first few weeks. Yixing knows Baekhyun’s fears, knows how to fix them and keep that look out of his eye. Yixing has never seen this kind of fear before. He’s never seen Baekhyun pressed up to the wall with an arm across his neck either.

Baekhyun is choking. He scrabbles at the arm on his neck and tries to kick at the man holding him down, pulling at his robes, but he can’t get any air. He sees Yixing and tries to scream again. The man pushes down harder against his throat and manages to get Baekhyun’s robes off one shoulder.

Yixing stalks forward. There’s nothing remotely human in his body anymore – his face feels tight and distorted and _wrong_. He will tear this human’s flesh from its bones for touching Baekhyun. His Baekhyun.

“Little fuckin’ bitch,” the human snarls, “quit fuckin’ fightin’ me. You’re just a fuckin’ whore so do your fuckin’ job.” Tears well up in Baekhyun’s eyes and he garbles out Yixing’s name one last time.

Yixing grabs the man’s collar and slams him into the other wall. “Vermin,” he hisses, “you’re no better than the rats on the street. No, you’re worse – the rats only do what they must to survive. You tried to take _my_ human. You _hurt_ him.” Baekhyun ducks under his free arm and tucks himself as close to Yixing as physically possible, trembling and hiccuping. It makes him feel less like he’s shaking out of control. He’s a little more human with Baekhyun safe and sound in his arms.

It doesn’t mean he won’t kill this worthless piece of dirt.

Baekhyun scratched the man’s arm until it bled. Yixing feels a burst of pride and tightens his grip on Baekhyun’s middle. Malnourished and choking and terrified and his human still put up a fight. “Close your eyes, Baekhyun, focus only on me,” Yixing whispers and grabs the man’s injured arm. Baekhyun buries his face in Yixing’s chest and nods, wetness soaking through the fabric. Yixing kisses the crown of his head and lets his power burn.

Yixing is known for his ability to heal. It is what has allowed him to reach this station in life. It mends the little scratches and bruises Baekhyun gets while running around in the garden and has done a great deal in building trust with his boy. But it is not the only thing Yixing can do nor is it his favorite ability. No, Yixing is not a conjurer of cheap tricks or a guardian angel or a doctor. He is _warrior_ and warriors bring others to _ruin_.

When Yixing’s power hums under his skin, it is released to knit skin back together or soothe away the pain of stubbed toe. He enjoys being able to provide that service to those he cares for. He loves watching the pain melt off Baekhyun’s face when he heals whatever scrapes and scratches the boy can’t help but accumulate throughout the day. But when Yixing’s power _burns_ , it feels so much better.

The thin scratches on the man’s arm yawn open, spilling blood like an offering of recompense for Baekhyun’s pain. Yixing watches and glee builds in his stomach as the man stops struggling to watch in horror as the scratches split wider and wider and wider. The burning under Yixing’s skin rises and the wounds dig deeper and deeper until bone sees sun for the very first time. Humans always freeze when their own bodies betray them.

It usually doesn’t happen this fast, but Yixing is so angry and feral that the skin is splitting up his arms and across his face faster than Yixing can enjoy it. When his corpse hits the ground seconds later there’s nothing left but bones.

Yixing settles back into himself when he turns away and pulls Baekhyun tight against his chest. Baekhyun shatters to pieces a heartbeat later. “He- I- So scared, Yixing. I- I- Yixing, I,” he might be saying more, but Yixing can hardly make out the words he does understand. The rest sounds like sobs and Baekhyun’s language.

 Yixing holds him through it, pushing his own fear over losing Baekhyun back and letting it dissolve into a need to comfort his human. “I have you, Baekhyun, you’re safe. Nothing can hurt you now.” He keeps one arm around Baekhyun’s waist and runs the other through his hair over and over until Baekhyun’s sobs start to quiet down. “I shouldn’t have left you alone. It was my fault and I am sorry. I will never let someone take you from me again. Never,” he whispers. Guilt eats at his stomach like a ravenous mutt.

Yixing has never cried before, but tears burn the back of his eyes. He should have been watching Baekhyun. He knew how dangerous the market was and yet he stepped away.

“Yixing is not bad. Not you fault.” Yixing pushes Baekhyun’s bangs out of his eyes and cups his cheek, wiping away the tears that continue to fall even when Baekhyun smiles up at him. “Yixing… Yixing help me. He keep safe.” Baekhyun pushes himself up on his toes and presses a kiss to Yixing’s cheek.

Weeks of easing into his space could have never prepared him for how good it feels when Baekhyun’s dry lips brush against his face. Baekhyun drops back down and presses the side of his face into Yixing’s chest. He won’t even glance the other way, to where the body is already starting to rot. Good. Yixing doesn’t want him to see it – Baekhyun’s been through enough today. He lets Baekhyun lean against him and pull himself back together until the smell of death starts to creep up the walls and crash down over their heads. Yixing would love nothing more than to hold Baekhyun for eternity but he has never been fond of that awful corpse stench.

And so he herds Baekhyun out of the alley, keeping his human safe in arms. It’s unwieldy to walk this way, his legs keep tangling with Baekhyun’s and the other humans stare at them as though they’re some sort of strange four-legged beast, but Baekhyun doesn’t seem to mind and Yixing refuses to let him out of his grasp.

“Go home now please?” Yixing would take him anywhere he wanted to go. He would travel the world and find new lands to name in Baekhyun’s honor if that’s what he wished. But going home sounds nice too. Yixing nods and Baekhyun hums. “Kris too? Or he stay with Yiqi?”

“He will choose what he wants to do,” Yixing says as they round the corner before Yiqi’s stand, “I think he had a few other things he needed to get done while he was here today, but he will come home eventually.”

Baekhyun stops him with a gentle tug on his sleeve. It wasn’t until Yifan pointed out the night before that he noticed, but Baekhyun has made him more gentle than he’d ever thought possible. Perhaps because Baekhyun thrives on a softer voice and light touches and being listened to like he actually matters – or maybe Yixing has never had a reason to be gentle before, has never felt happiness like this before. Whatever the reason, Yixing is not sharp-tongued or vicious when Baekhyun is around.

Yixing knocked Yifan upside the head last night for calling him ‘timid as a kitten’ after Baekhyun went to bed. For Baekhyun, yes, for anyone else, never.

“Eventually,” Baekhyun asks, “what it mean?” And there are few things Yixing has come to love more than teaching Baekhyun new words. He never thought that he would have the patience to teach another demon, much less another person, but the best part of his day has become that time each night when Baekhyun knocks on his study door with a list of hanzi or pictures for Yixing to teach him. They have worked on his grammar too, but Yixing could say _what does it mean?_ a million times and the boy would still say _what it mean, Yixing?_

Yixing urges him to keep walking as he starts, “It means sometime. Soon, later, or much later. Do you understand?”

“Um… A little? Is all time or just… just some? We go home eventually? Yixing hug eventually? No – I understand not.”

Concepts like time and eventuality seemed so much simpler before Baekhyun. Not that Yixing would ever want to give his human up. He will find the words to make him understand; it will take time, but he will.

“Lay,” Yifan walks towards them as quickly as he can without drawing attention to himself. Few demons enjoy the attention of humans, fewer still when their powers are like Yifan’s. Yixing does not truly understand all that Yifan is capable of, but he does know never to make a deal he cannot pay for. Yixing has watched the taller demon ruin lives, _take_ lives, over bargains gone unfulfilled; he has already told Baekhyun never to make a deal with Yifan. Yifan does what he can to lower the prices for those he cares for but even he can only do so much with his power.

“Baekhyun, are you alright,” Yifan stoops down to look Baekhyun in the eye and sucks in a breath, “That’s going to bruise horribly. Did you notice his neck, Lay?” And Baekhyun’s neck is turning an angry red, blood pooling under the surface. It’s going to turn purple and blue by the morning.

Yixing wants to go back to the alley and tear the corpse to pieces. How had he missed that?

He tilts Baekhyun’s chin up and watches the very beginnings of bruises start to form. Baekhyun holds himself back from squirming by tightening his grip on Yixing’s sleeve but his breaths come faster and faster. He mentioned once that he didn’t like people touching his neck, in the early hours one morning as the stars started to shoot across the sky. He didn’t explain – because he could not or did not want to, Yixing does not know – and Yixing didn’t ask. Baekhyun can keep all the secrets he likes; Yixing is grateful to get to hold him as he does now.

Jongdae sat up with him the night before he and Baekhyun returned to Changsha and told him the story of Kai and his human. Jongdae refused to give up the name and Yixing did not press – he does not trust many of his kind, he would not allow Baekhyun’s name to be given out to strangers if he was in Jongdae’s position. Jongdae said that Kai’s human would not let the demon touch him for three months. Kai hadn’t told his human what the boy would be gaining in sleeping with him and the human took it as deceit. Yixing would have done the same if he’d been in the human’s place.

It is changing the human from the inside out. When Baekhyun decides that he wants Yixing, mind, body, and soul, there will be no going back. Yixing thinks humans are moronic, short-sighted, and worry too much about the morality of giving their all to a demon, but he understands that it is not a decision to be made lightly. When Baekhyun decides that he wants Yixing, Yixing wants him to need that eternity just as badly as Yixing already does.

Until that day, Yixing will be content with the affection Baekhyun accepts. Baekhyun doesn’t shy away from kisses to his brow or his hair and steps into Yixing’s arms of his own accord. It is more and less than everything Yixing thought he would ever have.

“Does your neck hurt,” Yixing lets go of Baekhyun’s chin and watches as the human ducks his head to keep his neck out of reach. Baekhyun nods.

“A little,” he winces when he speaks, “just – not bad! Little hurt.”

Yixing wants nothing more than to press his fingers to Baekhyun’s throat and soothe the pain. But using his power is not safe, not when there are so many humans watching with greedy eyes. “I will heal it once we are home. Is that alright?”

Baekhyun lets himself lean closer into Yixing as he nods, “Thank you, Yixing.”

Yixing and Yifan scan the crowd on instinct and forces down the beginning tendrils of anger. They had talked about it before leaving the estate, that Yixing was Lay to the outside world. It took much longer than Yixing would have liked for Baekhyun to start calling him by name without any sort of title, he should have known better than to task this of him within a day. “Lay,” Yixing whispers, “remember?”

Yixing prepares himself for a deluge of rambling apologies that Baekhyun himself can barely understand. But Baekhyun says nothing, gaze somewhere far in the distance on something that Yixing cannot see.

“What is he looking at,” Yifan asks, turning his head to follow Baekhyun’s line of sight. Yixing says nothing. He would like to know what has captured his human’s attention as well. Yixing searches and searches and finds nothing. Baekhyun has never done this before.

“Dog.” Baekhyun starts to shake with pent up energy, “Dog! Is dog there! Look! Look!” Yixing has to squint and watch the exact bit of space Baekhyun points at, but the crowd parts for just a moment and sure enough, there are dogs. A singular puppy actually. It is sitting in a basket marked as _free to a home_ all alone and watching the world around it with big, terrified eyes.

It looks too much like Baekhyun that first day in front of the brothel for Yixing’s comfort. It looks too much like Baekhyun in general. Yixing’s hand on his waist is likely the only thing stopping Baekhyun from sprinting through the crowd of people to get to the tiny creature. Baekhyun wants it, he wants it so badly that it’s written all over his face. And Yixing promised himself to give Baekhyun whatever he wanted at the market today. Yixing does not break promises, much less promises to Baekhyun.

“Come, we need to grab the dog before someone else does.” Getting Baekhyun a dog has been on his mind from the moment the human stopped in front of that ugly painting in Jongdae’s inn. For all that Yixing dislikes markets, fate only seems to smile on him when he’s in one.

“We can take dog?” Baekhyun lights up, bright and alive and beautiful, when Yixing nods and ushers him forward. Baekhyun takes off at a sprint and Yixing swears under his breath as he jogs to catch up.

Baekhyun gets to the puppy first, and the little thing looks up at him with its tongue lolling out of its mouth. “Dog! Baby dog,” Baekhyun squeaks. The he coughs and winces, throat still sore and neck still bruising. It doesn’t stop him from squatting down to coo at the dog. “Lay, is baby dog! Small dog, very small.” Its tail wags from side to side so quickly it starts to blur even in Yixing’s eyes.

“Mhm, it is a puppy. Would you like to carry him home?” Baekhyun picks the dog up before Yixing can finish his sentence.

“Puppy,” Baekhyun coos, “You are puppy. You and I go to home. Right? Puppy go home also?” Yixing nods and pets the top of the dog’s head. It yips and licks a stripe up Baekhyun’s cheek. “Puppy hungry? We have food puppy eat, yes?”

“Yes, we have more than enough meat for him. We can worry about that when we get home.” Baekhyun stands with the puppy cuddled to his chest and it might be the happiest Yixing has ever seen him. Yifan is just breaking through the crowd when they turn. He smiles and pats the dog’s head when he gets close enough. “We’ll be leaving now,” Yixing says. And he feels himself soften as the dog licks at every bit of Baekhyun it can reach and Baekhyun giggles unlike anything Yixing has ever heard.

Yifan pulls his hand away before the puppy turns to give him the same affection. “I have a few more tasks I need to finish before I can leave, but you two – _three_ have a nice walk back.” The taller demon disappears back into the crowd with a shallow bow. How someone of his size can blend in is still a mystery.

“We should get your new friend home, hm? He must be starving.” And Yixing has an uncomfortable flash to Baekhyun devouring broth like he had never eaten before and would never eat again. He shoves it away and moves them out of the market through side paths and alleys most humans prefer to leave alone. Baekhyun barely looks up from the puppy the entire time, captivated by the thing’s sweet face. It will be good for Baekhyun to have something to take care of, something to show kindness to.

The sun is still high in the sky when they start down the path back to the estate. Yixing prepares himself for a long, silent walk back when Baekhyun tugs at his sleeve for attention. Yixing gives it gladly.

“Thank you,” is all Baekhyun says, but he steps in closer until Yixing can feel his body heat and slides his hand down Yixing’s arm to lace their fingers together.

Yixing brings their hands up to his lips to kiss Baekhyun’s knuckles and uses his free hand to brush the Baekhyun’s hair out of his eyes. “Anything for you.”

* * *

Thunder rumbles in the distance. Yixing knew the storm was coming, he and Baekhyun had climbed up the small mountain near the estate this morning and watched the storm clouds form in the distance away. He’s glad it waited until night fell. Baekhyun would have caught an awful cold if they’d walked through the rain.

Yixing raises his hand and watches his shadow dance on the wall. He’ll have to close the window soon before the wind dances the lamp to death. There’s something about the volatility of it that reminds him of Luhan. “Any word from Luhan?” It’s been over a year since he last heard from him. It isn’t uncommon for Luhan to disappear for months at a time when he decides to travel, but Yixing cannot remember the last time he went more than half a year without some sort of letter or gift. He meant to write to Luhan when he returned to Changsha to ask about the trinkets he brings back from his travels.

Writing letters has never been his passion and it has gotten even worse since Baekhyun entered his life – why spend his time writing a letter when it would be so much better spent with his human? They talk now. Baekhyun asks more questions than Yixing thought one person could think of and Yixing does his best to answer each and every one. _Why caterpillars sleep before butterflies? Why only me and Yifan say you Yixing? How you do thing make hurt no hurt?_ Nothing in this plane of existence or the next that could make him give that up.

Yifan looks up from his book and hums. He stretches out on the futon like an overgrown house cat and grunts when his head goes off one end. Yixing sighs inwardly, even Cat the puppy is smart enough to not slip off the futon. "Not... Not since the winter maybe? He mentioned taking another trip in his last letter but he never said when or where. That is a little strange, isn’t it?”

“Very.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Yifan says, though his smile doesn’t reach his eyes, “Why do you ask though?”

Yixing pauses. He could tell Yifan the truth, that he is attempting to give Baekhyun everything he was denied before. Yifan has seen so much of his weakness for Baekhyun already. There is danger in letting others know how important the human is to him. He works to keep his weaknesses protected; Baekhyun is a part of his soul that he cannot keep hidden. But if he can't trust Yifan, he can't trust anyone.

"I wanted to see if Luhan would allow Baekhyun to take a few of the trinkets he doesn't care for. Baekhyun doesn't have many things to call his own and Luhan always complains that he never has any space for new souvenirs."

"Oh, the cold-blooded demon of Changsha fumbling over himself to see to a human's every wish, how the mighty fall," Yifan says with a smile. Thunder booms overhead and Yifan giggles.

“Please, Yifan, do push the cold-blooded demon of Changsha’s patience – but remember that Baekhyun gets away with much, much more than you ever will." A headache looms on the horizon. Yifan is a friend, a true friend, but also a true nuisance. Watching Baekhyun bother and cling to Yixing with impunity has made him worse. The human had found a small pond on the walk back from the mountain and accidently splashed him while trying to cool himself off. Yixing laughed and just wiped at the water on his face. Yifan, on a walk to come find them, saw it happen and darted out to shove Yixing into the pond. It was only Baekhyun’s innocence that stopped him from trying to drown Yifan.

But Baekhyun is asleep now and there is an inkwell just heavy enough to maim without killing. It would feel so good to knock the smarmy grin of his face. Yixing slowly reaches for the inkwell.

And Yifan's grin turns soft and gentle. "I am happy you've found someone that makes you happy, Yixing. I tease because I care, you know this. Baekhyun is good for you and you are good for him. I enjoy seeing the two of you smile at each other." Yixing puts the inkwell back down and smiles down at the papers on his desk, words that Baekhyun wants to learn how to read.

His mind drowns in Baekhyun. In the pout of his lips, in his proud smile when he holds his own in a conversation. He speaks so well for someone learning as long as he has. There are a few humans Yixing knows that have been in the palace as long as Baekhyun has been alive that do not sound as natural as he does. Even if Baekhyun still struggled like he did sitting across from him in the bathhouse at Jongdae's inn, Yixing would still be endlessly proud of him.

"You will spoil him rotten if you're not careful," Yifan rolls to his feet as the rain starts to pour outside.

"I will spoil him as much as he allows. You will do the same one day." It is impossible that Yifan won't do the same. Giving Baekhyun whatever he wants is like breathing now. Yixing does it without having to think. He sees Baekhyun look at something in interest and he is already moving to buy it for him.

Yifan hums and his eyes glaze, likely imagining what it will be like to finally meet his human. Yixing lets himself soften now that Yifan isn't watching and puts down another word on Baekhyun's list. _Love._

"I hope you're right, Xing," is all Yifan says when he comes back to himself.

"I'm always right. Now go to bed and leave me alone, you're annoying me." Yifan scoffs and reaches down to smudge the brush strokes on his paper. "Impossible nuisance, that's what you are, Yifan." Yifan disappears down the hall before Yixing can grab the inkwell and make him pay.

The rain pours endlessly, thunder booming and rolling and flashes of lightning washing the room in light. The sound makes Yixing feel tired. It's late and he promised to see the sunrise with Baekhyun. His human must sleep like the dead to not wake up to this noise. Yixing blows out the lamp on his desk and darkness descends.

Yixing is just about to blow out the last candle in his room when his door creaks open. Intruder. Yixing whirls around, hand reaching for the knife tucked into his robes, but stops when he sees Baekhyun’s head poking through the gap. He is smile is sheepish as he pushes the door the rest of the way open. Yixing can’t fathom why he’d be so embarrassed; he made it very clear that Baekhyun was allowed in this room whenever he wanted.

“I though you already went to bed, Baekhyun.” Baekhyun shrugs. Cat whines at being jostled and Baekhyun hushes her. “Is everything alright?” Blush colors Baekhyun’s cheeks and he shrugs again.

“The storm is loud. Don’t like it.”

Yixing blinks. It never occurred to him that Baekhyun could be scared of storms. It’s nature at her most beautiful, most destructive; Yixing loves them. But Baekhyun is uncomfortable when the thunder claps and watches the roof as though he expects it to come crashing down on his head at any moment. Cat sleeps through it all. Yixing is disturbingly fond of Cat – she comforts Baekhyun when he cannot and is quiet and calm enough that she can sleep at his feet and not disturb his work. It makes perfect sense that Cat is unbothered by storms as well.

He is at a loss of how he can bring Baekhyun any solace now. There are many things Yixing can do, but controlling the skies is not one of them. He opens his mouth, closes it, and opens it again. He has an idea but it feels inadequate, _inappropriate_. He is a little ashamed of himself for thinking of it, truly.

“Can I sleep here? With you? No in bed if… if you not want it but on floor? Maybe?”

“Yes, of course.” For all that is good in the world _yes_. It has been two months since Baekhyun fell asleep against his chest at Jongdae’s inn. For two months Yixing has itched to hold Baekhyun through the night again. “Come. Cat can sleep on the bed as well.” Yixing turns back to the candle and the corners of his mouth twist up at the shuffle of Baekhyun’s feet across the floor.

The candle dies with a flicker and only Baekhyun’s head can be seen where he’s tucked under the blankets. Cat is a shadow at the end of the bed, snuffling as she settles back to sleep. Neither of them move when Yixing climbs onto the other side of the bed. Baekhyun has the majority of the blankets wrapped around him in a cocoon – like his little butterflies – and Yixing tries to cover himself with the edges that are left.

Yixing drifts to the sound of the rain and thunder and Baekhyun’s breathing. Slow, even, comforting. Not as peaceful as feeling that comfort against his chest, but enough.

“Yixing?” Yixing grunts and forces his eyes open. Baekhyun rolls onto his side and watches him, moonlight reflecting in his eyes. “Thank you. Storm is not a lot scary now.” He does not flinch when Yixing traces the line of his cheek. Baekhyun blinks but he does not flinch or pull away.

“Why you afraid of storms?” Baekhyun flinches then. Lightning flashes and he curls into himself, out of Yixing’s reach.

“Bad remembered.”

“Bad memories?” The darkness hides Yixing’s fond smile. He has smiled more in this few months with Baekhyun than in the past few centuries. Baekhyun nods and lightning bathes the room in just enough light for him to see the pout on his human’s face. Yifan talks more than he does and Baekhyun’s grasp on the language has thrived because of it. It means Baekhyun talks more too, not that Yixing would ever dare to complain about that – and he gets so embarrassed when he says something wrong. Yixing adores each and every pout.

But he doesn’t adore this one nearly as much, not when it is connected to one of the nightmares that wake Baekhyun up at night. The human doesn’t know that he knows, but the servants tell him everything. Yixing is fully aware that Baekhyun sleeps outside his door some nights until sunrise, too scared to go back to bed but too shy to ask for comfort.

Yixing is so, so happy that Baekhyun came to him for this. So happy he feels like he’s floating.

“I sleeped outside. Did not have a bed. Just – just ground,” Baekhyun’s hand darts out and latches onto his, “Storm and rain come and I sleeped outside. Scary, cold.”

Yixing will go back there one day. He will find the vermin that left his Baekhyun outside in the cold and make them pay for it. Take everything but their lives from them until they wished he would just kill them. “You will never be without a bed again. Storms are inconsequential now – I will never let one harm you.”

“Incon- In- In-con-see-kuh-win-shul. What mean?”

“It cannot hurt you anymore. It has no power over you.” Baekhyun smiles and Yixing feels it in his chest. He has never believed in what the humans call God, but it would take very little for someone to convince him that angels exist solely because of the human lying across from him.

“Thank you. Good word.” They lay in silence and Yixing watches Baekhyun’s face smooth out into sleep. And then his nose wrinkles, fighting the pull. “Yixing?”

The moon travels high in the sky and Yixing should sleep. Baekhyun is fighting rest – the storm is still raging outside – but he doesn’t know whether Yixing is doing the same. But Yixing can deny Baekhyun nothing. “Yes?”

“Good night.”

“Good night, Baekhyun.” Yixing does not fall asleep until Baekhyun’s grip on his hand goes lax and his eyes begin to dance behind his eyelids.

Yixing wakes once to the loudest clap of thunder of the night. It barely makes him stir, but then he remembers Baekhyun. He forces his eyes open but Baekhyun isn’t there. He isn’t where Yixing left him and fury that tastes like fear makes his heart pound. And then something shifts against his chest and the world rights itself.

Sometime in the night, Baekhyun found a home in the curve of Yixing’s body. Yixing wraps an arm around his waist and pull him in closer. Baekhyun sighs in his sleep when Yixing presses a kiss to the shell of his ear. This is what he needs. This is what he has always needed. He tucks his face into the nape of Baekhyun’s neck and falls back into the warm, comfortable black.

* * *

Yifan's jaw drops. And then he sprints from the room, howling with laughter. It is the most undignified Yixing has ever seen him but he understands. If this was happening to anyone but him he would do the same, though in a much more dignified fashion. Yixing is still fighting down his own laughter at the outrage on the noble's face. Yifan's laughter echoes down the hallway and it seems to make the noble across the sitting room that much angrier.

Yixing had apologized this morning for the noble's surprise visit. He had planned to take Baekhyun and Yifan to see the many rivers of Changsha – Yifan enjoys nature and Baekhyun would have ample opportunities to collect rocks and Yixing would have the privilege of walking at his side and helping him carry his newfound treasures. It would have made for an excellent end of Yifan's visit. He will miss the other demon when he leaves for Guangzhou tomorrow, but at least Baekhyun has managed to turn Yifan's last day in Changsha into something memorable.

Baekhyun. Yixing's sweet, kind, loving human. Yixing never imagined that Baekhyun would ever be capable of something like this. He tends to run to Yixing when frightened or uncomfortable and seek out all the comfort and protection the demon will provide.

But not now. Now, Baekhyun puffs himself up and refuses to break eye contact with the other human. He's the same noble that wrote the letter calling Baekhyun a _plaything_. Baekhyun still only knows of that letter as the one Yixing burned, but vermin on the page tends to be vermin off the page as well. Baekhyun had watched Yixing and Yifan discuss business at the palace with the noble from a chair in the corner of the room, a discussion frequently interrupted by unnecessary details about the noble's life.

Yixing has mastered the art of ignoring trivial blathering and used those interruptions as moments to plan a trip to Guangzhou after winter starts. He finds it lovely in the winter - Baekhyun would enjoy seeing Yifan again as well. What Yixing cannot ignore is how Baekhyun shrinks each and every time the noble shifts to leer at him. Yixing is positioned between the two but the human is shameless, leaning to see around him.

Baekhyun dealt with it with grace. He stayed when Yixing asked if he and Yifan wanted to see the rivers without him and he pretends that he doesn't notice the man staring hungrily. He keeps his nose buried in the drawing paper Yixing purchased for him and only looks up when he hears Yixing speak.

And then noble laid out his true business. Yixing has never been fond of him nor has he ever been particularly fond of Yixing. They had as much of an understanding as one could have with something less intelligent than one's shoe – the noble only talked to him when absolutely necessary and in turn received the lovely privilege of keeping all his limbs. It was an understanding that worked until the noble married a woman far above his station.

Yixing has no issue with the wife. In fact, she is one of the few humans he would call an acquaintance. She tends to keep to herself and is only concerned with keeping her loved ones safe and provided for. It is a virtue that they share. Her husband, puffed up with new power and prestige, has begun to push his boundaries – and Yixing's patience.

The noble spoke of how he would no longer stand for Yixing's intimidation and threats. He said that he had an in with the emperor now and that he demanded Yixing's respect. Yixing does not give respect to anyone, it must be earned, and the noble had done nothing to earn it. Yixing watched him rant in boredom and allowed him to say whatever came to his stupid little mind. Yifan actually called for tea and had an early afternoon snack with his show.

Yixing could not have cared less about what the human said. There was no proof that Yixing ever threatened him. No one would ever dare to try to find any either. The demon is too important to the nobility of the palace to ever risk losing his service. The noble would speak his piece and then Yixing would see to it that he receives a bag of little red berries. The ones Yixing keeps far out of Baekhyun's reach. The ones that killed the last human who showed up to his estate uninvited.

He could kill the noble now; Yifan and the servants would never breathe a word, but Yixing doesn't want Baekhyun to see that side of him any more than he has to.

Baekhyun, for all that he endured the man's stares and occasional comment about his pretty face, cannot or will not allow anyone to speak poorly of Yixing.

 _"Vermin!"_ Baekhyun had yelled after he stomped across the sitting room. It is what sent Yifan running, what is still making Yixing choke down laughter. He loves Baekhyun, he loves how kind he is to Cat and the butterflies and the children in the market that ask why he talks so strangely; he loves this new, fierce side of him too.

"It's alright," Yixing places a gentle hand on his arm and rubs soothing circles with his thumb.

The noble stands to his full height, barely taller than Baekhyun, and red crawls up from his neck. "Lay, you need to control your whore before someone does it for you! It's hard to believe that a bed-warmer would be allowed to speak like that to guests. If you let me have him for a time he would be much better behaved, believe me." Yixing snaps toward him and his power starts to burn.

No one calls his Baekhyun a _whore._ He's going to kill the man here and now. His wife was seeing another man on the side anyway, the noble will not be missed. Yixing will drag the man down to the room underground, where he keeps the red berries and the knives and all the things he does not want Baekhyun to see, and he will surely come out _better behaved_.

Yixing stalks forward, red seeping into the edges of the world.

"You are _inconsequential!_ " Baekhyun stops him with a tight grip on his sleeve, nose scrunched in anger. "I am not whore and-and you are inconsequential! You no talk Lay mean and you no in my house! Out!" His hands shake where they're squeezing Yixing's robes. His entire body is shaking and fear floats off of him in waves but his voice does not falter. Baekhyun stays strong and defiant against the noble balling up his fists.

Yixing taught him that word. Yixing wants to kiss him until he runs out of air, until Baekhyun understands how much he is loved.

The man takes a step forward and Yixing tugs Baekhyun behind him. "I should have you beaten, you impudent piece of filth," the noble's voice is low and heavy with anger. Baekhyun needs to leave. Not in fear of the noble, no, but because someone just threatened Yixing's human and now there is only red.

"Inconsequential," Baekhyun says, "You not can hurt me. No power."

"To your room," Yixing growls. His voice always sounds so wrong when he slips into this. "To your room, _now._ " His control is slipping with every breath and Baekhyun's soothing presence is only slowing the progress. Yixing needs him to leave.

"What?" Baekhyun tugs at his sleeve, voice so much smaller now. "I am bad?" Yixing wants to press in close and show him how _good_ he was. And he will, after he has torn the noble's stomach out through his mouth and discovered whether the worm has a backbone or not. But he does not have the time nor the control to soothe his human now.

Yixing does not watch Baekhyun leave, just hears his footsteps fade off into the distance. The noble watched him go though. He took his eyes off his opponent and Yixing is already in his space with a hand wrapped around his throat when he turns back.

The moon is just starting to rise when Yixing finishes his business with the noble. He feels more like himself, more stable, more desperate for Baekhyun's company. He disposes of the corpse and attempts to clean up as quickly as he can. But blood does not like to come out and he has never figured out exactly what to do with the innards. It must take him an hour to clean room, another to dispose of his own clothing and clean himself.

He would be less thorough, but he wants to hold Baekhyun without risking any gore getting onto his sweet human. Yixing cannot wait to have Baekhyun in his arms again. He is so proud of the way his human stood his ground, of how well he used the language. He will shower Baekhyun in kisses, the short, sweet ones that he likes across his cheeks and forehead. Baekhyun loves praise too, he loves being told how good he is, how well he did. Yixing will praise him until Baekhyun grows bored of it, and then he'll keep going.

But Baekhyun is not curled up under his sheets when Yixing walks into his room. Ever since the storm, Yixing has come to bed each night to find Cat and Baekhyun taking up the once empty side of his bed. Every night he is graced with the honor of keeping Baekhyun warm at night and every night he gives thanks for the opportunity. But Baekhyun is not waiting for him tonight.

Yixing checks his closet just in case Baekhyun decided to sleep in some of his clothes and fell asleep before he could decide what to borrow. It has happened before, though only on nights when Yifan and Yixing kept him up too late. The smaller room is empty, no sign of Baekhyun or Cat having been there at all.

"Baekhyun," Yixing calls as he steps out into the hallway. The boy could have gone looking for him because he took too long to come to bed. But that's never happened before. If Yixing takes too long, Baekhyun will wrap himself in all the blankets and fall asleep. It has become Baekhyun's bed just as much as it is Yixing's.

Jingyi is the only one wandering the halls that night. The head servant bows and keeps her eyes low to the ground. "Permission to speak, Lord Lay?" Yixing nods. Jingyi bows again and his patience begins to wear thin. The noble had ruined his day and Baekhyun, the only being alive who could salvage his night, is missing. "If you are looking for the young Master, he is in his room. He hasn't left since you ordered him there this afternoon."

Yixing had forgotten he'd done that. His memories tend to slip away with his control. He remembers wanting Baekhyun to leave but there is nothing in his memory that tells him how he made him go. "The young Master has already gone to bed, milord. We asked if he wanted us to ask you for permission to go sleep in your rooms, but he declined."

"Thank you, Jingyi."

"Of course, Lord Lay, I am happy to serve." Jingyi bows and walks away and Yixing feels hollow. Baekhyun knows that he never has to ask permission to sleep in Yixing's room. He barged in one night as Yixing was changing into bedclothes and flopped onto the bed as though he owned it. He knows that he is always welcome.

If Baekhyun wants to sleep by himself, Yixing will not force him to do otherwise. Even if it makes Yixing's heart twist painfully in his chest.

Yixing's bed is lonely without Baekhyun. It had never been lonely before. It was always the perfect size for him, enough room for him to move around comfortably. But now Baekhyun's side is empty and there is no warm body snuggled into his side or snoring lump at the end of the bed. Yixing tosses and turns but finds no rest. It never takes him this long to fall asleep anymore, not when Baekhyun is breathing warm puffs of air against his neck. When did he become so reliant on Baekhyun's presence?

When will Baekhyun come back?

The moon is high in the sky, close to starting its descent back down, when Yixing finally gives up. He can't sleep without Baekhyun anymore. There's something simply not right about the empty space in his bed. Yixing has worked to not intrude on Baekhyun's space, but he _needs_ him now. There is no sleep for him without Baekhyun.

He slides out of bed and hurries across the floor. He throws the door open to Baekhyun on the other side, fist trembling where it had been poised to knock. "Baekhyun," it comes out as a breath. Baekhyun's eyes are rimmed in red and he wipes at his nose every few seconds. "Come." Yixing doesn't give him the chance to refuse, grabbing him by the waist and pulling him close. "Why are you crying, hm? What's wrong?"

He toes the door closed and lets Baekhyun cry. "P-please not be mad."

"I'm not mad." Why would Baekhyun ever think that he's mad? And then he remembers Jingyi's words. He should have asked Yifan to take Baekhyun with him. This is his fault. "I asked you to leave because I did not want you to see me hurt him. I was so proud of you."

Baekhyun hiccups out what sounds like _really_ and Yixing nods. He guides them ever-so-slowly backwards to the bed, lifting Baekhyun to sit on the mattress. "Yes," Yixing whispers, "you did so well, Baekhyun. It was the vermin that needed to be punished." The tension bleeds out Baekhyun's frame in a rush. "I am sorry for hurting you. I shouldn't have spoken to you that way."

"I can stay? Here with you?"

"Of course. This room is yours just as much as it is mine." Baekhyun pulls away to burrow under the sheets and Yixing follows. He pulls Baekhyun back against his chest the moment they're settled and the human sighs happily, wiggling until he's comfortable. "Baekhyun, this was not your fault today, do you understand? You did nothing to upset me, _nothing_. I had to finish business with the noble, business I did not want you to see."

Baekhyun nods. He presses in closer when Yixing kisses just behind his ear. Yixing is exhausted now, body finally ready to rest with Baekhyun in reach. Baekhyun yawns and his eyes start to flutter shut. Cat whines from outside the door. Yixing knew he was forgetting something, damn dog. He slides out of bed, away from Baekhyun's warmth, and grabs the pup waiting out in the hallway. He allows her to lick his face once, twice, before dumping her on the bed and crawling back underneath the sheets.

She, like Baekhyun, has wormed her way into his heart. He could not deny her those kisses even if he wanted to.

"You kill him," Baekhyun asks. Yixing freezes where he had started to wrap an arm around the human's waist. "The noble? He dead now?" Baekhyun rolls over to look in Yixing in the eye. This is what he did not want Baekhyun to know. Yixing is a killer by nature. He once turned villages into rubble out of sheer boredom, before he realized the screaming things had feelings and families. He still doesn't feel much regret for those he kills. Yixing knows Baekhyun has an idea of what Yixing is – his human is much too intelligent not to. He would rather keep Baekhyun in the dark about this, at least until he doesn't have to worry about the human leaving him. But he will not lie to him.

Yixing nods. "The noble deserved his fate."

"For me? You kill for me?"

"Yes." He waits for Baekhyun to pull away, to push Yixing off and run.

Baekhyun rolls back over tugs Yixing's arm over his middle, pulling him closer and closer until they're pressed together. "Yixing keep me safe, right? Like in market?" Yixing nods against the back of Baekhyun's neck. "Thank you. I sleep now." And he does. Baekhyun falls asleep before Yixing can think of anything to say.

"I love you." Yixing has never said it out loud before and it feels _incredible_. Because he does, he truly loves Baekhyun. It had been the idea of having someone to love as his own at first; he had adored Baekhyun because Baekyhun was meant to be his. And now, Yixing loves every piece of him. Baekhyun's laugh, his dedication to learning how to read and write. He loves how shameless he is about wanting attention and affection in the morning, whining and refusing to let Yixing up without kisses. Yixing loves all the little facets of Baekhyun's personality that he has found so far, and he looks forward to the eternity he has to discover more.

He will secure the eternity soon, but for now he allows himself to enjoy each second with Baekhyun as it comes. "I love you," he whispers again. Baekhyun sneezes, but it feels like he is saying it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this, please be sure to leave a kudos and a comment! They make my day :3 Also feel free to come talk to me! I'm killmeDO on [Tumblr,](http://killmedo.tumblr.com/) [Twitter,](https://twitter.com/killmeDO?lang=en) and [Curious Cat!](https://curiouscat.me/killmeDO)


	3. Act 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...the smut in here is bad and I apologize in advance. It got reworked a little to make it better but it's still pretty bad ajdfklasdfjsadf. Just I'm sorry lakjdfsaf. The next part will be up in two weeks and it will be the final part to this story (it's just a lot of fluff and happy times bc I decided I wanted it lmao) Thank you to everyone who reads and comments and kudoses this fic! I am well aware that it's not my best work but I like it a lot so...:3
> 
> As always, a big thank you to [Aarushi](https://twitter.com/AarushiC_18) for being my beta and powering through the last parts of this chapter so it wouldn't be a giant dumpster fire!

Yixing wakes to Baekhyun puffing out warm breaths in his ear. It is a wonderful way to start the day. Getting out from underneath Baekhyun is less wonderful. His human clings like a monkey in his sleep, fists tight in the fabric. And he has to be careful of how he moves Baekhyun as well, because he is that much more needy when he wakes. Yixing gently rolls the human to the side and pets his sides to soothe him when he whines. Baekhyun’s eyes flutter open for a moment before sliding shut again.

In the weeks since Yifan left, Baekhyun has become shameless about wanting Yixing’s attention. Nothing more than hugs and kisses on his cheeks and forehead and cold nights curled up together, but Baekhyun is incorrigible about demanding them. He loves every whiny second of it, of being held down by a creature he can lift with one arm and smothered until he gives him every bit of affection in his body.

It’s his, of course, no one else in existence has claim to Yixing’s affection. Baekhyun can take and take all of the kindness Yixing can give because it all belongs to him. Baekhyun settles on the mattress and Yixing starts the slow slide off the bed like he does every morning now. His mornings used to be quick and meaningless, getting out of bed the second he was up and grooming himself for the day. It can take nearly an hour to get out of bed now.

Yixing would not trade those long mornings for the world.

“Xing? Where you going?” He lets out a breath and climbs back into bed. Baekhyun smiles and hums, wiggling until he’s pressed to Yixing’s side. “Morning,” he murmurs, “sleep good?” Yixing runs his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair. Baekhyun presses into the touch.

“Yes, I slept well.” He sleeps well every night Baekhyun is at his side. “Did you?” Baekhyun nods and stretches like a cat. Cat makes a whining yawn from the foot of the bed. “Good.” Quiet. He pulls Baekhyun further up the bed until the human is tucked under his chin. Closer and closer, every day Baekhyun is closer and closer and Yixing could drown in the feeling of Baekhyun’s hair tickling his neck. It is the closest to a human's idea of heaven he will ever be. He runs one hand up and down Baekhyun's back, indulging in the shiver he gets.

"Want kisses," Baekhyun murmurs. And he tilts his face up in demand. Yixing is powerless against the expectant calm on his face. The happy sigh Baekhyun lets out when he presses kisses to the apples of his cheeks. "More." And so he gives him more. And again and again and again. Yixing gives to every whim because months ago he would never have had this. Baekhyun would hide and flinch and run from him.

He will reward every moment Baekhyun comes to him for affection because he cannot bear to lose this privilege.

"I don't wanna move out of bed. It's cold." Freezing toes are pressed to Yixing's legs and he tries not to shiver. Even through all these months, Baekhyun has not been able to gain enough weight to keep himself warm. Yixing is more than willing keep him warm, but it is worrying that Baekhyun cannot do it on his own. "Can stay here, right?"

"I don't see why we couldn't stay in bed for a little while longer."

And then his world tips into place. He always thinks that the world cannot get any brighter, any more right, but Baekhyun always proves him wrong. Baekhyun pushes himself up a little further to press their lips together. It only lasts for a heartbeat, but it will stick with him for eternity.

"This fine?"

"Yes," it is more than simply fine. It is perfect. He wants to kiss Baekhyun until the world burns. But he will settle for the sweet, short press of lips that Baekhyun wants now. He sees Baekhyun staring at his mouth again. "Baekhyun, you may kiss me again if you wish." Baekhyun wastes no time in doing just that. "You've never done this before. Why now?"

Baekhyun tilts his head to the side, chewing on his bottom lip. He'll hurt himself doing that. Yixing thumbs it out from between his teeth and feels the pout take shape under his finger tip. "Before Yixing, mouth kisses not safe. But feel safe with you." There is more than Baekhyun can say, Yixing feels it in his chest. Maybe he will learn the rest someday, but this will do for now. "Mouth kisses are nice. Good."

He goes to show him how much better kisses on the mouth can be when a thundering noise comes down the hallway. Yixing rolls Baekhyun underneath him and grabs the dagger hidden within his pillowcase. "Stay."

"Yixing-"

He grabs Baekhyun by the chin, " _Stay._ Run if I tell you, but stay for now." There is no room – no _time_ for arguments. Baekhyun can be upset later, when he is safe and Yixing can apologize properly.

The noise grows closer, moving faster than any human. He can feel Baekhyun behind him, pressing his face into his back for comfort. The door bursts open and – _fucking Luhan._

"Xing! It's good to see you, my friend. It has been far too long." There's relief somewhere in Yixing's body. It had been months since any one had last heard from Luhan, enough time for Yifan to begin to worry. The relief is drowned out when Baekhyun shifts against his back.

Yixing strides forward and Luhan opens his arms for a hug. He is smacked in the head instead. "Send a letter! Or a servant! I have told you more than enough times to announce your arrival ahead of time!"

"Yixing," Luhan says as he rubs away the sting on his head, "I never announce my arrival. You usually aren't this upset about it – why is there a human in your bed?" Yixing turns and Baekhyun is barely more than two beautiful eyes peeking out from the blankets. "I thought you were better than bringing a whore to your hou-"

Yixing slams him into the wall by his throat, "If you value your penis, do _not_ call Baekhyun a whore. Am I understood?" An unspoken question in Luhan's eyes. It would likely be spoken if Yixing did not have such a tight grip on his throat, but that is not his problem. "Yes, he is. He is everything to me."

Luhan smiles even as his face turns red. He should let go of Luhan's throat now, shouldn't he? Luhan won't be able to grovel at Baekhyun's feet in apology if he's dead.

"Yixing," Baekhyun asks, voice small, "is it alright?" Luhan drops to the ground, gasping for air.

"Everything is fine. Don't worry." He leaves Luhan to recover and returns to the bed. Luhan will be fine on his own. Baekhyun is Yixing's priority. He leans in and pauses. Can he initiate? Baekhyun takes the lead on these things to keep his boundaries safe. Yixing doesn't want to break the trust he has spent so much time building. And then Baekhyun meets him halfway for a kiss, soft and quick like the others.

Luhan stumbles to his feet behind them, coughing and massaging his throat when Yixing spares him enough thought to look. He bows in greeting and Baekhyun tries to bow in return, though he isn't able to move too far because of Yixing's arm around his waist. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Baekhyun. I am Luhan, a friend of Yixing's."

"He is a friend," Baekhyun asks. Yixing nods. For all that Luhan annoys him, he is one of Yixing's dearest friends. But Baekhyun pouts and there's anger in the furrow of his brows. "I like Yifan. Yifan not call me _whore_."

Luhan's jaw drops. "I-I... I am going to go set up my guest room. Your human is _mean,_ Yixing."

"No," Yixing says. He pushes Baekhyun's hair out of his eyes; his heart nearly bursts at the smile he is rewarded with in return. His human, he will never tire of hearing that. "He is simply honest. We will meet you for breakfast soon." The bedroom door begins to squeak closed, "Luhan?"

"Hm?"

"I _am_ happy to see you." The door closes but Luhan's smile can be regardless.

"Come, we need to get dressed." Baekhyun pouts. Yixing has found that as shameless as Baekhyun is when it comes to demanding affection, he is somehow more shameless when that affection is taken from him. "I know, Baekhyun. If you are still upset tonight, we can go to bed early." The pout slowly fades into a small smile.

"Yixing?"

"Yes?"

"One more kiss?" And Yixing gives, because what Baekhyun wants, Baekhyun gets. Kisses, attention, Yixing's heart. It is all his for the taking. All that Yixing can hope is that one day he receives Baekhyun’s in return.

* * *

"I am truthfully quite shocked that you agreed to come out with me today," Luhan shouts. He stumbles over a loose rock on the trail and nearly falls. Yixing has told him to watch his feet more times than he cares to count, but Luhan has always been too focused on the world around him to watch where his own body goes. Baekhyun does that as well, tripping over his own feet because a bird in the bush or a particularly beautiful rock up ahead caught his attention.

Yixing finds Baekhyun's missteps far more endearing.

"What do you mean?" Yixing settles on a tree stump far up the trail from the other demon. Baekhyun's lack of focus is endearing, but Luhan's is endlessly entertaining. Luhan trips over a branch and lands face first in the mud, too busy sneering at Yixing to watch the ground beneath him.

Luhan swears and wipes at his face, gagging when mud hits his tongue. So dramatic, Baekhyun fell in the mud just a week back and simply spit out the mud with a grimace. "Baekhyun decided to stay home and you never leave his side. Before you call me dramatic, I have asked the servants and they also said that you two are inseparable."

Silence hangs as Yixing watches Luhan struggle up the path. Does he truly spend that much time with Baekhyun? Even as he asks himself, he knows the answer is an undeniable _yes._ But he fails to find a problem with that. He enjoys being with Baekhyun and, to the best of his knowledge, Baekhyun enjoys being with him. He feels much more at ease when he can see Baekhyun. Nothing can hurt the human when he is in Yixing's reach.

But Baekhyun told him to go today. Yixing planned on staying home with Baekhyun when the boy decided he didn’t want to go. His human told him to go instead, pushing at him ineffectively until he acquiesced and followed Luhan out the door. Luhan does not need to know that, of course.

Baekhyun doesn't want to do much of anything anymore. He's been losing weight, the knobs of his backbone reappearing where they had just been covered by a healthy later of fat. He promises he's fine but Yixing knows there is something else under the surface. Baekhyun eats and Yixing knows he keeps it down, but it seems as though he's starving again. He summoned Kai in a fit of desperation to send a letter to Jongdae. Being in another demon's debt is unsettling, but Kai said that he doesn’t charge much when it comes to the affairs of what he calls _soulmates_. Jongdae said that he had never heard of anything like Baekhyun's condition and Yixing had been left to his own thoughts.

He tries not to think about the sudden shadows on Baekhyun's face. His own thoughts devolve into chaos in seconds.

"I am capable of leaving him, Luhan, I simply prefer not to. He makes for good company." The best company.

Luhan snorts, “Good company, is that what people have begun to call sex now?” It would be so easy to knock him off balance and sending him tumbling down the path. It would be satisfying too. But he has self-control. “I’m jesting! I’m jesting! Baekhyun is a wonderful human and very kind – don’t kick me down the mountainside!”

He feels that it says volumes about him that he is so easily mollified by compliments about Baekhyun. His human _is_ wonderful, he is well aware of it, but he enjoys the validation. “We’re almost to the summit, Luhan. Hurry, I wish to be back at the estate before sundown,” Yixing hops off his tree stump and starts the final stretch to the mountain top. Luhan, predictably, trips a few seconds later while growling about how he moves more than fast enough to get home by sundown.

“I love the mountains,” Luhan says when they finally reach the summit, sky starting to color pink with the beginnings of sunset. Yixing should have picked Luhan up and carried him the rest of the way up the mountain. He had hoped to watch the sunset with Baekhyun tonight, but he’ll be lucky to be home before the human falls asleep. “There’s something peaceful about being at the top, you know?”

“I suppose.” Yixing only feels peace when Baekhyun is near. He enjoys the mountainside and the view from the peak, but it’s nothing like the bone deep calm that comes when he curls around Baekhyun at night. “Enjoy the sunset, Luhan, I am going to return home.”

“Already? We’ve only just arrived.”

“We do not all like mountains like you.”

Luhan rolls his eyes, “You just want to get back to Baekhyun. I understand, I’d do the same in your place.” There’s no mistaking the sadness in his voice. Yixing pauses. Ge and Yifan have always been tied to the palace, to summonings and requests for help from humans. Luhan traveled the world instead. He moved from kingdom to kingdom in search of treasure. That is what Yixing had assumed. Now, he sees more. How else would one find their human besides searching every village, every field, every forest for them?

Luhan says nothing more and Yixing cannot find the words to comfort his friend. Instead, he watches as the other demon sits down on the ground and watches the sunset from his seat above the rest of the world, the eagle’s view of every rock, animal, and human. Yixing starts down the mountain to where his world is waiting for him and tries not to think about the lonely man he’s leaving behind.

“Master Lay, he has already retired for the night,” Jingyi bows and directs him to his room – his and Baekhyun’s room. They decided it was easier to move all of Baekhyun’s clothes into Yixing’s wardrobe. It makes getting the human out of bed much easier when he can’t complain about having to trek across the freezing hallways to dress.

It’s too early for Baekhyun to be asleep, much too early. It _used_ to be too early. Now, Baekhyun seems to have half the energy he used to. Yixing spends much of his time caring for his human, shifting him to sleep more comfortably as he takes nap after nap. He does not mind taking care of Baekhyun, though he wished he didn’t have to.

Yixing eases open the door to their room. He had hoped to be home before Baekhyun fell asleep but the lack of candle light means he failed. The walk back took much longer than he thought, too much mud on the path.

"Yixing? You are home!” Baekhyun sits straight up. Yixing can _feel_ the beautiful smile on his face, even if he can’t see it. “Did you have a good walk? You were gone for long time.”

“Luhan is… slow. He gets distracted easily, much like you.” Yixing pulls off his day clothes. He should something else on over his underclothes, but not even his eyes can see at night when Baekhyun has the curtains closed. Baekhyun never seems to mind when he sleeps in his underclothes anyway.

“You do not help him like me,” Baekhyun asks. And Yixing swears that there is something smug in his voice. Over the months, Baekhyun has come to understand that Yixing treats him differently, _better,_ than he treats anyone else. Yixing thought that Baekhyun would be uncomfortable with that. Instead, the human enjoys it _immensely._ Yixing has spoiled him.

Good, it was his intention.

“No. No I do not.” Yixing climbs into bed next to Baekhyun and tugs the human to lie down beside him. He strokes along the line of Baekhyun's jaw and feels that peace blanket over him. "Are you feeling any better?" Baekhyun shrugs and squirms closer to rest his head on Yixing's shoulder. "I would take you to Yifan, if you would let me." Yixing has tried to heal Baekhyun, but he cannot heal diseases like this. There has to be a wound or growth for him to fix and he has to know where to find it.

Baekhyun is tired and thin. Yixing can only heal that with time and care, both of which he has in abundance, but he does not want to, he _cannot_ risk that they will not be enough. Baekhyun has refused to ask Yifan for help. His proud human refusing to put himself in another's debt – too much like Yixing himself. Yixing has already sent a letter to Yifan though. Yixing is a prideful creature, but no amount of pride is worth losing Baekhyun.

They lie in silence for heartbeat after heartbeat. Life is always so lovely in these moments. He begins to drift to the rhythm of Baekhyun's breathing.

"Yixing?"

"Yes?"

"I need help with words." Yixing blinks his eyes open. Baekhyun is watching him with embarrassment in the nibble of his teeth on his lower lip. "What does luh- lov-vuh love mean? Luhan say you love me but I do not know what love mean."

Luhan is going to wake up with Yixing’s fist through his chest. It was not his place. But when does Luhan ever mind his own business? Yixing is forced to answer Baekhyun's question. He has never refused to teach Baekhyun a word before; he will not start now. And he knows this word in Baekhyun's language. He learned it to surprise Baekhyun one day. He should have known that Baekhyun would be the one to surprise him.

Yixing sighs through his nose. A headache starts in his temples He knew he would have to truly tell Baekhyun that he loved him one day, but he never expected it to be so soon. "It means _love_ ," he says in the language Baekhyun whispers in his sleep, "Luhan was saying that... that _I love you_."

"Oh." Baekhyun blinks and Yixing nods. "You love me... I love you? Say it right?" His heart thumps in his chest and nods again. Baekhyun smiles, bright and beautiful even in the dark, "I love you! I love Yixing!"

He has dreamed of this moment. He loves Baekhyun more than he ever imagined he could love someone. It is doubtful that Baekhyun loves him even half as much as Yixing loves him, but even the smallest amount of love from Baekhyun is enough.

"I love you too, Baekhyun. I love you very much." The backs of his eyes burn with tears. He doesn't remember ever crying before. Baekhyun has caused irreversible changes in him.

Baekhyun kisses him, smiling against his mouth and tucking himself as close as their bodies will allow. "I am happy with you. I love you." And Yixing _is_ crying now. "Are you happy?"

"Very much so. I am happiest with you."

"Good!" They stare at each other in the dark. Baekhyun wipes at his tears and presses kiss after kiss to his lips. A heartbeat later, he yawns and Yixing can see how his eyes start to slide shut. "I am tired now. Goodnight, Yixing."

"Goodnight, Baekhyun. I love you."

"I love you also, Yixing."

* * *

"Yixing," a voice whispers in his ear, "Yixing, wake up." If it wasn't Baekhyun's sweet voice, Yixing would be ready to rip the person shaking him to shreds. He had been immersed in a lovely dream of destroying the human boy at the market that flirted with Baekhyun; he would have loved to see it through to the end. "Yixing," Baekhyun whines.

Yixing forces his eyes open and allows sleep to bleed out of his mind. The first thing he sees is Baekhyun's pretty face, lower lip pushed out into a pout and brow furrowed as he holds himself just over Yixing. He is close enough that hot air blows across Yixing's face with every breath.

"Cannot sleep. Got very much on mind." The moon is still high in the sky. It has been a few hours, maybe, since they went to bed. Baekhyun never takes this long to fall asleep.

Yixing pushes himself up and leans against the headboard. He lets his arms fall open in invitation and Baekhyun scrambles forward, pressing them together back to chest. Life is always sweeter with Baekhyun in his arms. Yixing cards his fingers through Baekhyun's hair. He is glad that the human allowed Luhan to cut it; the boy looked nice when his hair brushed his shoulders, but his boyish face shines when it's cropped to the lobes of his ears like this. "What is bothering you," he asks, "tell me and I will fix it."

Baekhyun sighs. What could be on the boy's mind that keeps him up so late? Luhan left for Cyprus this morning, this time with a promise to send letters whenever he can. Baekhyun had not seemed too upset. He had hugged Luhan farewell and watched the demon ride away with a smile on his face. There is no reason for him to worry himself out of sleep over Luhan.

"You love me?"

"With everything I am," Yixing murmurs. Gentle kisses are pressed to the shell of his ear and along the curve of his cheek when Baekhyun tips his head back onto Yixing's shoulder. "But you don’t need me to tell you that, do you?" How many times a day does Yixing tell Baekhyun how much he loves him? How many times more would he say it if Baekhyun asked?

And as always, Baekhyun smiles a small, smug smile, eyes closing in happiness. No sunset, no sunrise, no view from a mountaintop could compare to this. It makes Yixing feel complete. "I have spoiled you with love."

"I like love."

"I know you do. I am as content to give it as you are to receive it." Baekhyun giggles and grabs Yixing hand to weave their fingers together. "But what has stopped your sleep?"

The giggling stops. Baekhyun stares up at him poorly hidden fear. There is no reason on this plane for Baekhyun to ever being frightened of him. "I want to have sex with you. Is okay?”

He is going to rip Luhan limb from limb. He had meant to make Luhan promise not to meddle but the other demon had distracted him each time he had tried to extract that promise with stories of his travels, of the things he would look for for Baekhyun in Cyprus. This is what he reaps for being so easy to distract.

"Luhan should never have told you, Baekhyun. I had planned to tell you when I knew for certain that you could understand the gravity and permanence of the decision. Sex with you is more than copulation. It is when our bodies and souls are the closest they will ever be."

Baekhyun turns, face twisted in confusion. "Luhan say nothing," he says, "I know sex from before Yixing. Mother tell me. Whorehouse, remember?" Yixing sucks in a breath through his nose and bites his tongue. He spoke too soon, out of turn. "I like close. Sex is closest – everything is good!" If only the world worked in the same manner as Baekhyun's mind.

There is no simple way to explain what will happen if Yixing takes him. It is a simple concept to him; he takes some of Baekhyun's soul into himself and in turn gives Baekhyun a piece of his own soul. His soul is immortal and will change his human's body from the inside out to render him immortal as well. The bite is decor in a way. It is just the proof of their bond.

The bite is what Yixing enjoys about the idea of it all. Something to mark Baekhyun as his that no one can take from him.

“Do you remember Mark?” Baekhyun nods. “Do you remember what you saw,” Yixing presses gentle fingers to the human’s collarbones, “here? On his neck?” Mark has perfect impressions of Jackson’s teeth on his collarbones. The two had planned it that way, saying that if Mark was going to wear a scar for the rest of eternity, it should be perfect. He admires the ease with which the pair bonded; Mark knew what Jackson was, what he wanted from him, from nearly the moment they met. For them, it was simply a matter of Mark deciding when he was ready. No discomfort, no uncertainty.

“Teeth,” Baekhyun answers, “Mark say Jackson’s teeth. Little mean.” Yixing loses himself in feeling the smooth skin of Baekhyun’s neck, imagining what wounds his teeth would leave behind. Where Baekhyun would want him to bite down. “Why Jackson bite Mark?”

“How old is Mark,” Yixing asks.

Baekhyun’s eyes narrow when his question goes unanswered but he shrugs. “Same as me? Maybe older? I do not know.”

“Much, much older, my love. I met Mark before your kingdom had even sprouted into existence. He has seen two centuries pass and he will see an eternity more.”

“Oh. That… that is many years. People do not live so many years, do they?”

Yixing shakes his head. Baekhyun will live that long and longer, as will Mark and Kookie and whomever Yifan and Luhan find in the centuries to come. The rest of humanity will fade out of existence, lives beginning and ending in flashes of time. “Mark is immortal. And you will be after…” Yixing is no stranger to pleasure, but heat rushes to his cheeks at the idea of finding it with Baekhyun. “This different than sex because I am not huma-”

“I know.”

“You know?”

“Humans like me do not do what you do. I am not dumb, Yixing.” No, Baekhyun is smarter than even Yixing believed. “I listen. I watch,” the boy explains, “You are not good hider. Man at market? Nobleman? I know, I understand. It okay. I love you always.”

Yixing is left speechless. There was always a sort of knowledge that Baekhyun knew more than he could say, but to hear it, to hear the human confess that he knows what Yixing is capable of, who Yixing is. He could search for centuries and never find the word for it. Except for the fact that Baekhyun loves him still, loves him in spite of the things he has done, _that_ is nothing short of miraculous.

Baekhyun watches him. He is always watching. Yixing will need to remember that. It is always those who say little that know the most.

Yifan will laugh when he hears that Baekhyun knows so much. The other demon had sent a letter not long ago urging Yixing to tell Baekhyun everything before the human discovered it all on his own. It seems that no one could have predicted the intelligence, the observance locked away in the human’s mind.

“You fuck me,” Yixing needs to learn who taught Baekhyun that word. It sounds filthy rolling off his tongue and sends filthy heat rushing down Yixing’s back. “And I stay with you for long time? I want it. I want you. You want me too?” More than Baekhyun will ever know.

"This is not a choice to make lightly," Yixing whispers and cups Baekhyun's face. Why is he trying to convince Baekhyun otherwise? This has been his dream since he saw Baekhyun huddled in the dirt. And yet, it feels too soon. He wants more time, he wants Baekhyun to truly want this. "I cannot undo it once it is done. This is would be forever."

"I understand. I want it - with you. Is that alright?" Yixing nods with a desperation he did not know he had. And Baekhyun smiles. He smiles and leans in for a kiss. It tastes sweeter than every other, maybe because there are no secrets to sour it. Baekhyun knows everything there is to know. And he still wants Yixing. It is more than Yixing could have ever asked for. "Now? Please?"

They could wait. Yixing imagines a night of pampering him. Baekhyun's favorite foods, showing Baekhyun pleasure again and again until he cries, until he shakes and speaks in tongues and forgets everything but Yixing's touch.

But if he gives Baekhyun what he wants now – he’d have the rest of eternity to show Baekhyun anything and everything. Truthfully, he knows there is no question. Baekhyun wants him now and Baekhyun is never denied what he wants. And there is no one here to say that he cannot give Baekhyun what he wants and fulfill his own desires.

Yixing flips them, pressing Baekhyun into the mattress and kissing his satisfied smile. Baekhyun enjoys the power he has over Yixing a bit too much; good, he deserves all the happiness Yixing can give him. "Yes, now. I love you."

"I love you also."

Baekhyun wears very little clothing to bed, little enough that Yixing wastes little time in stripping him bare. He has seen this body before, but he never allowed himself to _look_. Baekhyun giggles when he traces along his belly, kissing a line down his chest. Even with the ribs beginning to push the skin, Baekhyun is beautiful.

Every mole, every little scar, everything about him is beautiful. He drags his fingers across Baekhyun’s skin until he wiggles. His human's cheeks are pink when Yixing looks up, biting his lip as he tries not to laugh. "You are beautiful. Truly gorgeous."

"You also," Baekhyun murmurs, "Very pretty." He pets at Yixing's face with his long fingers, slowly stroking his way down his chest. How convenient that tonight was another night of wearing only underclothes to bed. Yixing can feel Baekhyun's soft hands against his skin.

They stay like that for some time, simply touching. Yixing forgets why they started to touch in the first place. A navel had never seemed so interesting before - Baekhyun's is cute, small, fun to bother because the touch makes Baekhyun squirm. Yixing almost wishes he had one.

His human giggles wildly when he digs his fingers into his side and under the bend of his knee. He tickles until Baekhyun kicks at him. The human rolls against the body caging him in but squeals when it exposes more of his side.

And then Baekhyun pokes at the underside of Yixing's arm in retribution and he cannot stop his own laugh. " _Ha_ ," he yells, "not fun, right?"

"I am enjoying myself immensely." He lowers himself until his mouth is a hair’s breadth away from Baekhyun's. They stay frozen for what feels like eons until Baekhyun pushes himself up to close the space. Yixing drops to his elbows, licking along the seam of Baekhyun's lips until they part.

Baekhyun's mouth tastes much like any other mouth Yixing has licked his way into, but it feels that much sweeter with the knowledge that it is _his human's_ tongue tentatively sliding along his own. He swallows down the whimper Baekhyun lets out as Yixing's sharper teeth catch on his bottom lip. Baekhyun gives in so beautifully. The men and women he found his pleasure in before would submit as well because it was their job to do what the client wanted. Baekhyun lets him in, lets him hold him down and kiss him until he's gasping for air because he wants to.

That alone is enough to make him dizzy from the rush of blood away from his brain.

He runs his hands down Baekhyun's arms while the human catches his breath, following them to where his hands are clutching to Yixing's shoulders. They release easily. Baekhyun has always loved to hold hands. Yixing pushes their joined hands onto the bed near Baekhyun's head. For a moment, he gets lost in blissful glaze over Baekhyun's eyes. But then he’s brought back by the human with a shorter, softer kiss.

"Can you remain still? For me," Yixing whispers into Baekhyun's ear. He nods helplessly, fingers twisting into the sheets when Yixing lets go to keep himself still. "Good boy, you are always so perfect for me."

"Kiss me. Please."

Yixing smooths his hands down to Baekhyun's hips before kissing him again. And again and again. Until he starts to kiss down his human's jaw, down the line of his neck. Baekhyun whines. "I am still here. I am not leaving you."

The prettiest noises Yixing's ever heard come out of Baekhyun's mouth when sucks bruises along his collarbones. Hands grip his hair and he pauses. "Baekhyun, your hands?" The red in the human's cheeks grows darker and he pulls his hands back to clutch at the pillow. "Good boy. If you decide you no longer want to keep your hands still, move them. I will not be upset if you wish to move." He enjoys the power of having his human obey, but not if it comes at the cost of comfort.

"I-I like it? I thin- _Yixing_!" Baekhyun arches under his hands, Yixing's fingers brushing against his dick. "More – again, please." Yixing smirks against Baekhyun's skin, rubbing slow and gentle at the dick twitching against his hand. The slide is dry at first and then Baekhyun's moans rise and hot fluid spills over his hand, just enough to make the touch better.

"Have you ever ejaculated before? By intention?" He knows the answer. Baekhyun is sensitive unlike anyone he's ever met, writhing and whining at even the slightest touch to his cock. And he knows that Baekhyun has dreams that leave him embarrassed and sticky in the morning. Baekhyun shakes his head. "Would you like to?" It would take minutes, if the boy lasted that long. He nods and moans high and sweet.

Yixing lets Baekhyun cry out into his mouth and quickens his hand, more wetness pumping out. Baekhyun's hands fly down to grasp at Yixing free hand. "Please, please, please – I – _ah_ – Yixing, please!" Baekhyun begins babbling in his language, hiccupping in breaths.

"Are you close," Yixing purrs. In truth, Yixing is certain that he could finish from the sight of Baekhyun splayed out, hips bucking into his hands and pretty bruises trailing down his torso in a map. "Show me, Baekhyun. You are so, so pretty. Are you even prettier at the end?"

A broken whine works out Baekhyun's throat and his hands squeeze Yixing's wrist. And then he's shaking, making a mess of them both, and looking so beautiful. Yixing wonders who between them is the mortal and who is the superior being; no creature borne of this plane should be this beautiful, and yet Baekhyun exists.

Yixing kisses him as he calms, gentle and soft and loving. "Yi...Yixing?" He hums. Baekhyun noses against his cheek, demanding more and more kisses. He receives each and every one he asks for and then a few more simply because he deserves them. "I love you."

"I love you too." Yixing's cock loves him and hates Baekhyun in equal parts. He refuses to look down and see the angry purple that will greet him. He has never ignored his own needs for this long. But he can wait a bit longer, he has to make sure Baekhyun is ready. "May I continue?"

Baekhyun blinks awake from where he had started to drift. "More," he asks, confused and adorable.

"Only if you want more. We can wait for another time." Yixing will be excusing himself to the bath when Baekhyun falls asleep if so. Yixing kisses his forehead, "Do not force yourself."

"Try? Maybe? I-I want the forever."

"It will still be here. This offer is here for you no matter when you decide to take it." Baekhyun whines, a pout coming to life on his lips. Yixing cannot help the laugh. His impatient human, it is his fault Baekhyun is spoiled. "We can try, but you must tell me if you wish to stop. Am I understood?" Yixing crawls to the edge of the bed after Baekhyun nods. He sheds his underclothes as he goes, tossing them to the floor. He grabs the bottle of oil hidden in the top drawer of the bedside table.

"What is that," Baekhyun asks, pushing himself up onto his elbows, "Cook has that in the kitchen I think."

"Oil. You do not produce anything to assist with the slide on your own, do you?" Baekhyun's eyes go wide. It seems he does not know as much about sex as he once thought. "Do you wish to continue? We can stop."

Baekhyun takes a deep breath, falling back down and covering his face with his hands. Then his legs spread wider and Yixing cannot but allow his gaze to travel down Baekhyun's belly to the soft cock resting against his thigh. It's messy, semen clinging to the pink skin. Yixing wants to coax it back to hardness and make it even messier.

Then his gaze drops lower and he decides he would much rather make a mess out the little pink hole between Baekhyun's legs. He presses a dry fingertip against it in a trance and hums in the back of his throat when Baekhyun gasps.

"Is this alright?" Yixing uncaps the bottle and pours oil over his fingers, rubbing the slick around puckered skin.

"Y-yes." Baekhyun's breaths shudder and his hole twitches under Yixing's touch. It is the most maddening thing he has ever experienced. And then he slowly presses his finger inside of Baekhyun's body and discovers that there are things far more maddening than just a muscle twitch. He strokes his own cock and hisses at the relief it brings.

Baekhyun's hole clenches and relaxes as he squirms, hips shifting restlessly. Yixing finds the rhythm and uses it to press the rest of his finger in. He curls it against the inner walls. His dick aches when he lets go, but he gives Baekhyun his other hand to hold, kissing the soft skin of his inner thigh to calm him.

Something mean makes him dig the sharp edge of his teeth into the sensitive skin, just to see what noise it will provoke. Baekhyun whimpers at the sting but presses his thigh up to Yixing's mouth when he soothes each impression of teeth with his tongue afterward.

It does the work of coaxing Baekhyun's cock back to life for him. It is not fully hard, but Yixing can see it filling with blood and beginning to stand on its own. "You enjoy pain?"

"No-o," Baekhyun hiccups as Yixing bites his other thigh, "I like the – the after. Soft." Yixing can and will give him soft. He keeps his teeth behind his lips and kisses Baekhyun's thighs, sucking softly and reveling in the happy sighs above him.

He presses in a second finger and Baekhyun gasps. It must burn. One finger had become easy, but two meet resistance. Baekhyun's cock starts to fall limp again, hips twisting away and soft noise of pain making Yixing's heart ache. Yixing has never taken a cock into his mouth before; it is much easier than it appears. Though that may be because his human is not particularly large.

It is worth it to hear Baekhyun moan as though he's already about to finish. Yixing moves his fingers farther in as Baekhyun relaxes, too focused on the mouth on his cock to notice the ache from his hole. It gives Yixing the chance to push in deep enough to find that patch of flesh inside him.

" _Ah!_ Wha- ah-ah," Baekhyun moans, hips pushing back onto Yixing's fingers. Yixing rubs the spot inside him mercilessly, pulling off of his cock to watch Baekhyun's face as he comes undone. "Oh. Oh, please! Yixing." His name becomes a chanting prayer, a beat to the rhythm of Baekhyun fucking himself on his fingers. Baekhyun nearly reaches his climax once, hand coming down to fist around his cock. Yixing has to pull his hand away; it goes up to grasp the pillow unthinkingly and Yixing enjoys the small of rush of power.

Next time, Yixing will be happy to watch Baekhyun find his pleasure on his fingers, but there is still more to come and doesn't want to wear his human out yet. Another night.

Yixing slips a third finger in. Baekhyun clenches on instinct and whines, but Yixing rubs circles over the sensitive patch of flesh inside him and the human tosses his head back and moans. Someday, he will see just how many times he can bring his human to completion with only his fingers.

For now, he works his fingers in and out of Baekhyun's body, spreading them apart and stretching him open. Baekhyun just clutches at Yixing's other hand and takes his pleasure.

Baekhyun whines and tries to clench down when Yixing pulls his fingers out. Baekhyun's hole is shiny with oil and twitching, and Yixing has to close his eyes to stop himself from being dragged to the edge. "Are you ready?" Baekhyun's face is slack with pleasure, mouth dropped open as he pants. "Baekhyun," Yixing pulls his clean hand free and strokes along the human's cheek until his bleary eyes open, "are you ready?"

A nod and Yixing is coating himself with oil, never taking his eyes off Baekhyun's face. He aligns himself with his human's hole and breathes in as deeply as he can, heart racing in his chest. He intertwines their fingers again as he presses in, hips stuttering and stopping with each noise of discomfort. Yixing covers Baekhyun's face in kisses, smoothing the furrow of his brow and the downturn of his lips.

"I know," he whispers, "I am sorry, my love. You will adjust, relax." When his hips finally come to rest against Baekhyun's ass, they are both out of breath. Sex was a pastime before, pleasurable but forgettable. Yixing would sooner forget his own name than forget this moment.

He takes Baekhyun's cock in hand to ease the discomfort, smiling to himself when the human begins to buck into his touch. So sensitive, so responsive. Yixing is a blessed creature.

"Move," Baekhyun whines, "please?" Yixing does as his human commands, pulling back just a bit and rocking forward. Baekhyun clenches down and they groan together. Baekhyun grips his hands so tightly it would break his bones if were a human. But he does not say to stop. Yixing pulls out and rocks back in again and the slide is smoother. As is the third time, and the fourth.

Baekhyun moans on the sixth thrust, when Yixing pulls out to the tip and pushes back in. His face is going slack again, eyes a bit confused and blush riding high on his cheeks. It is utterly beautiful. Yixing would have this sight as a painting if he could, hung on the wall of his most secret room for only him to see. "Gorgeous, an angel made flesh," Yixing kisses Baekhyun's open mouth, The human attempts to kiss him in return, but his lips are slow. He lets Yixing lick into his mouth and swallow his sounds.

Yixing shifts his hips and Baekhyun wraps his legs tight around his waist, hips twitching back into each thrust. Baekhyun _whines_ and babbles against Yixing's mouth. "Good g-good! _Fuck!_ " He will find out who taught Baekhyun that word. Though now it may be to thank them. If it had sounded filthy before, it is obscene now. Obscene in a way that will be Yixing's undoing.

They fall into a sweet rhythm, sweet enough Yixing can feel it in his teeth. Baekhyun tries to meet his thrusts until they become too fast for him to match the pace. Yixing doesn't mind the passivity; there is something intoxicating in the way Baekhyun squeezes his eyes shut and tosses his head back, surrendering to the feelings.

He can feel them both climbing towards their ends. Baekhyun becomes tighter with each rise in his voice, a beautiful tell. But moreover, he feels Baekhyun's pleasure as a knot in his stomach alongside his own approaching climax.

Baekhyun won't feel it, not until Yixing sinks his teeth into the pretty skin of his neck. Humans, his sweet Baekhyun included, are not attuned to the way the planes shift or how a piece of each of them is starting to pull away and settle in the other; they need something they can see, they can touch, to know that it is real. But Yixing can feel Baekhyun like a part of his own body. He has imagined what this would feel like from the long, rambling, drunken stories Jackson and Namjoon had regaled him with before. It is so much better than words could ever describe.

Baekhyun's voice cracks on a moan, calling out for Yixing and only Yixing, and then his body begins to convulse. It drags Yixing's climax out of him kicking and screaming. He pushes in as far as he can go and drops his mouth to Baekhyun's neck, kissing to the curve of his shoulder and sinking his teeth in and holding tight as he shudders and releases.

A piece of his soul releases as well, leaving him behind to take root in Baekhyun. The loss is barely felt, drowned out by the sheer overwhelming power of that little part of Baekhyun settling right where it belong in his own chest.

He drifts, laving his tongue over the wounds his teeth left behind. Eternity. He will get to spend an eternity with Baekhyun. It is all he could have ever asked for.

* * *

Baekhyun won't wake up. It has been a week and he won't wake up.

The morning after, Yixing is certain that Baekhyun is just worn out and healing. He looks beautiful in the early morning light, snoring with his mouth open. He doesn't worry; this is known to take a toll on the human. Yixing curls around him and kisses the shell of his ear the way Baekhyun likes. An eternity of spoiling Baekhyun, what could be better?

He falls back asleep expecting to be woken by his sleepy human demanding attention. But Baekhyun is still asleep when he wakes up. It is odd that Baekhyun had not even moved in his sleep. Yixing loves how Baekhyun wiggles and turns in his sleep. He seeks out warmth and comfort as though he is a moth and Yixing is a lantern. He never lies still throughout the night.

It is the first clue that Baekhyun is not asleep. When the sun is high and Yixing finally decides that it is time to wake his human and feed him. But Baekhyun does not respond, not to his name, not to kisses, not to being shaken.

Yixing has never felt cold dread like this. Baekhyun is unconscious. In a peaceful sleep-like state but terrifyingly still. He will not come back no matter how much Yixing begs or how hard he is jostled. Yixing spends hours curled at his side that day, pleading with Baekhyun to open his eyes, to simply let him know he is still there. He has never heard of it happening, of a human just not waking up after this.

Mark only woke for a minute or two every few hours the first few days, enough to tell Jackson he was hungry or thirsty or that he wanted more blankets. Kookie woke often, though it was only to kick at Namjoon or Suga and blame them for how awful he felt. Humans are supposed to wake up.

Baekhyun does not wake up to complain or whine or cling. He doesn't do anything but lie still and breathe. At least he's breathing. If he wasn’t – Yixing cannot bear to think about what would happen if he wasn’t.

Yixing tries everything. He sends servants to the market for smelling salts. He shakes Baekhyun like a ship in a storm. He reaches into their bond, a quiet thing humming, and pulls to try and bring Baekhyun back. Namjoon said once that he and Kookie use it to wake Suga in the morning. Baekhyun twitches, but nothing else. It’s not nearly enough.

"Baekhyun," he whispers, "open your eyes, Baekhyun. Please, love? I know you must be so tired, but I'll let you rest again, no interruptions, if you would just open your eyes for me." Yixing pulls again and again and again and takes comfort in the twitches. Sometime late into the night Baekhyun stops twitching.

No matter how much Yixing bothers the connection stretching between them, Baekhyun stays still and quiet. Fear, sick and sour, brings him to point of vomiting. But he doesn't, because Baekhyun needs him to be a rock – _his_ rock – until he wakes up.

All he needs is for Baekhyun to wake up. The world could be set ablaze. The seas could freeze. Locusts could descend from the sky. If Baekhyun opened his eyes and smiled at Yixing, none of it would matter.

"It has been three days. Three days. I need you to open your eyes. I miss you and I – I am scared. I am so scared. I will fix whatever is wrong. Just open your eyes and tell me." Yixing does not – _will not_ leave him. He spends all day at Baekhyun's side, feeding him thin soup that's easy for Yixing to get him to swallow. Ice chips give him the water he needs. He does what he can to keep him healthy.

His temperature starts to rise on the third night. It drops a few hours later, sweat breaking out all over his body. The fever breaks, but Yixing has never been so scared in his entire life.

On the fifth day, Yixing wakes and realizes Baekhyun is struggling to breathe. The air whistles through his throat and his entire body works for each pull of air. The fever comes back, low but hot enough he can feel it. Hell, he is in hell. Nothing on this plane should be able to hurt him like this does. Baekhyun is in so much pain and Yixing can't fix it. He promised to always take care of him and now he is breaking his word.

On the sixth day, he summons Kai and asks the demon to get Jongdae - and Yifan, if he can. Yifan sent a letter saying he was going on a trip for a few months to see more of the world so Yixing doesn’t hold much hope, but he still feels the urge to _try_.

Yixing cannot fix what he cannot feel or see and he has checked every part of Baekhyun for a wound. Jongdae is a doctor, capable of fixing some of things Yixing cannot. Yifan is, in many ways, a god. He can fix anything and everything, any plague, any injury.

Jongdae appears in his bedroom, bag of tools in hand. No Yifan. Kai bows, announces that he is done with favors for Yixing, and disappears again. "Kai said he's dying. What's wrong?" Yixing pulls Baekhyun up against his chest, contorting himself into the most uncomfortable positions because Baekhyun breathes easier like this. His pulse has started to slow and his skin is paler than it was. "Yixing, what happened to him?

Yixing tucks his face in the crook of Baekhyun's neck, right where his teeth marks are. The servants have left their food outside the door, no one but him has seen Baekhyun like this. He has never had to say it out loud.

"He won't wake up," a sob rips out of his chest. Baekhyun is _dying_ in his arms, fading away. The bond grows weaker and weaker with every passing hour and Yixing cannot make it stop. "He just... He just won't wake up. I bit him and now he's dying. Jongdae, fate is a hateful _bitch_."

Jongdae makes him leave. Maybe to save Yixing from the pain of watching his friend attempt to save his human. Maybe because it makes Jongdae uncomfortable to see Yixing cry. But Yixing sits in his office and feels hollow. Baekhyun is dying and there is nothing he can do. He is helpless, _useless._ His human must be so scared. Yixing knows Baekhyun can feel his emotions through the bond; he must be so scared to feel the rage and pain and terror pouring from Yixing.

He will apologize if Baekhyun wakes up. _When_ Baekhyun wakes up. Yixing must put all of his trust in Jongdae to bring Baekhyun back to him.

Restless. Yixing has not felt this restless in so long. Another sign that Baekhyun is leaving him. Peace is an elusive monster.

"I am so sorry, Yixing," Jongdae says. Baekhyun looks even worse than before, paler. Bruises have started to form under his eyes and his lips are colorless. "I do not know what's wrong. But I will get in touch with Yifan. I will bother Kai until he searches every corner of the world and finds him." Jongdae crosses the room and pulls Yixing into a hug. "I will find a way to help you. Baekhyun will not leave this world. But you have to be strong for him. You know as well as I do that he feels what you feel. If you believe, he will believe."

Jongdae cannot fix it. Baekhyun will die. He wants to believe that they will find Yifan in time, that Baekhyun will come back to him. But there is nothing hopeful or good left in him. Baekhyun is taking everything good in the world with him.

Yixing makes Jongdae leave. Jongdae refuses to leave him to suffer all alone, but Yixing refuses to have him there. Jongdae promises that he will find Yifan if it is the last thing he does. He will try, Yixing knows he will try. It means a lot that Jongdae will try, but it is hopeless. That is why he makes Jongdae leave. When his human dies, he wants to be the only one to hold him.

Baekhyun is everything to him; he does not want Jongdae to see him shatter to pieces when Baekhyun leaves him.

He lies at Baekhyun's side and traces the lines of his face. The curve of his lips that never fail to make Yixing's heart stop when they pull into a smile. The eyelids over his beautiful eyes. Yixing will never forget when he first saw Baekhyun's eyes, terrified and exhausted. Baekhyun's eyes are always happy now, filled with love and joy and wonder at the world around him.

He will miss Baekhyun _so much_.

"Please," he sobs, "please don't leave me. I will give everything to keep you here. _Please_ , Baekhyun." Baekhyun does not respond. Like how he has not responded to any of Yixing's other pleas.

He smooths a hand down Baekhyun's side and pulls him close. He will keep him warm and comfortable until he dies. It is the least he can do. Baekhyun deserves more, but he can at least give him this. Yixing settles his head over Baekhyun's chest and listens to the slow beat of his heart.

"I love you. I love you more than anything on this plane or the next."

Baekhyun's belly rises and falls under his hand with each breath. It's the only comfort he has left in the world. Yixing closes his eyes and loses himself in it. He won't have it for much longer, he should enjoy every last second of it.

And then he feels something move. Not under the hand on Baekhyun's belly or under his ear, but as if it's deep inside his body. But it's not inside him at all. Yixing is aware of every organ, every piece of skin. If there was something inside him, he would know. Not that any creature would survive in his body.

He waits for the feeling again, but it doesn't come. He must have imagined it. A delirium to cope with losing Baekhyun. Yixing closes his eyes again until he feels Baekhyun's heartbeat in his own chest. He'll feel it stop, feel the moment his human leaves him alone. At least he gets to be close with him until then. Baekhyun will be with him until the very bitter end. Yixing feels his blood rush through his veins, his muscles twitch, he feels every part of Baekhyun’s body like it is his own. But more. He feels Baekhyun's body more than he feels his own.

Something moves low in his stomach. It squirms – no, more than one. They all squirm and crawl. Yixing forces himself further into the bond until he no longer feels his own body. There are _things_ inside his Baekhyun. Squirming things in his belly. Yixing's heard of them, worms that eat one's food. Worms that would steal the food from Baekhyun's belly, the meat from his bones.

Worms that would kill him if they had the chance.

Yixing wants to dig in and rip them to shreds. Baekhyun has been losing weight because of these disgusting creatures. All the food he eats, they've been stealing it from him. They are eating him alive. His power burns under his skin but he is clueless as how to use it. He can rip wounds open but he has to know where the wound is and _there has to be a wound_. If he could cut Baekhyun open and pull the worms out then maybe he could save him, but he cannot. Baekhyun wouldn't survive. Instead, all he can do is rage against the creatures taking Baekhyun away.

Something tugs at the bond. It is a breath of fresh air after being underwater for so long. "Baekhyun? Do it again. Let me know you're here, please." Another pull, weak but still there. Baekhyun is still there.

The power burns, burns until it hurts. It feels like a frenzy under his skin, spiraling higher and higher. As though someone has taken hold of him by the soul and pulled. Yixing feels the piece of him in Baekhyun tugging like a dog with a bone. "My lovely, demanding boy. You've never been shy about what you want, hm?" He laughs through the tears. It's likely not even Baekhyun, just Yixing's own soul not wanting to be erased from existence. But it's enough, it's more than enough for Yixing to let his power burn out through his hand.

It digs through Baekhyun's belly, gentle and sweet to his human's skin. But Yixing still has Baekhyun in his head and can feel the worms crawling in his belly, can feel when his power reaches them. Yixing knows himself, knows the extent of what he can do. Never in his life has he _induced_ a wound, opened up unbroken skin with his power alone.

But the worms die in seconds when his power burns through them. It feels like actual fire spilling out of him. Wildfire burning through his veins and into Baekhyun, snuffing the worms out in droves. He doesn't care. He doesn't care what he is doing to the worms because Baekhyun's heart is louder, stronger, under his ear. There are countless worms, and with each one destroyed, Baekhyun breathes a little easier. His power hums and burns in turn, healing the damage the worms have done to Baekhyun's belly and ripping the creatures to shreds.

With every death, Baekhyun comes back to life. It’s all that matters.

Yixing doesn't even realize he's been sobbing until his throat starts to ache. Baekhyun is coming back to him, skin turning pink and temperature dropping back down. Time goes on and on. He keeps killing each and every worm left in Baekhyun’s body. Worms that tried to take what was _his_. He will do this until the world ends if it means Baekhyun waking up.

When Yixing stops, when no worm or egg is left in Baekhyun’s body, he listens to the strong thumping of Baekhyun's heart and cries into his chest. Baekhyun could still die, could still leave him alone, but there is hope. Baekhyun is breathing deep and slow and even and there is nothing quite as beautiful as the easy rise and fall of his chest.

A hand lands in his hair, long-fingered and gentle. "Y-Yi... Yixing?" He raises his head and sees Baekhyun's eyes fluttering open. A horrible, guttural noise bubbles out of his throat and Baekhyun's brow furrows. "Why are you crying? You alright?" Of course, Baekhyun would ask if _he's_ the one that is alright. He likely won't even remember being sick. Good. Yixing will tell him, but he's glad that Baekhyun won't have to remember the pain.

Yixing sits up and kisses Baekhyun like he might die if he doesn't. "You cannot leave me," he whispers, "Do you understand? You cannot leave me again. If I lose you...I'll – please, never leave me like this again."

"Shh, I did not go. I am here. I was always here. I love you. Why would I leave?" Baekhyun tugs at Yixing with weak arms until he lies down and holds him again. He runs his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair, full of oil and dirt after a week of not being washed. His human twists his fingers into the fabric of Yixing’s robes, “You do not leave too. You are mine. My Yixing.”

Yixing is not fond of his own tears. They burn as they leave his eyes and they soak into Baekhyun’s hair. It must be uncomfortable, but Baekhyun says nothing. He clings to Yixing and whines whenever the hand in his hair stops moving. There is peace within Yixing again. He is settled, comfortable. This is where he belongs.

Sleep pulls Baekhyun back down in fits. His eyes will flutter, head lolling against Yixing, and then he’ll startle awake. He yawns until Yixing’s jaw aches in sympathy. Finally, Baekhyun stops fighting and murmurs, "Yixing, I am tired. Very tired."

"Then sleep." He presses lazy kisses to Baekhyun's cheek. Baekhyun can sleep as long as wants, as he longs comes back to Yixing each time, that's all that matters. "I will be here when you wake."

"Forever?" There's something so silly in his smile. Yixing will get to see this sweet boy every single day for the rest of time.

"Forever." Baekhyun giggles, more air than sound. As long as he's laughing. As long as Baekhyun is alive and here. That's it. That is all Yixing will ever need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this, please leave a kudos and a comment! Also feel free to come talk to me! I'm killmeDO on [Tumblr,](http://killmedo.tumblr.com/) [Twitter,](https://twitter.com/killmeDO?lang=en) and [Curious Cat!](https://curiouscat.me/killmeDO)
> 
> I haven't ever said this before I think, but I am not looking for criticism, constructive or otherwise! I have a beta and a few friends I ask to look over my work and help me with big things like character development and plot. If you see a typo or something that is very easily fixable (like someone did over on DAR where they mentioned that Zi is a much more common Chinese sound to learn than Tao) please let me know! But aside from that, please don't leave criticism without asking :3


	4. Act 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are at the end! Thank you all so much for all your support and I hope you enjoy this chapter!! I don't have much to say beside thank you, but thank you so much <3
> 
> As always, thank you [Aarushi](https://twitter.com/AarushiC18) for being my beta and betaing nearly this whole goddamned chapter in ONE DAY!!!!

Yixing closes the bedroom door silently, toeing off his slippers. The moon is about to start its journey across the sky and the last thing he needs now is for Baekhyun to wake up. Not that he would be opposed to spending time with his beloved, exhausted human, but Jongdae has been adamant that Baekhyun sleep through the night; it will make it easier for him to adjust as he sleeps less and less if he keeps to his normal schedule. It makes Baekhyun feel more normal too, more like himself before he nearly died.

“Yixing?” He sighs at the quiet, frightened call. Baekhyun always seems to know when Yixing is coming back. He wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Baekhyun knows much, much more than Yixing would have ever guessed, it makes sense that he has already taken control of the bond. “Cold… Yixing?” Of course. The blankets are never enough to keep Baekhyun warm, even with the late spring weather. It was like this before his body started to change, but it has gotten much worse. He lost more weight while he was dying. He’s gaining it back, slowly, but it is nearly impossible for him to stay warm by himself for now.

Yixing still has to choke down tears and waves of nausea when he thinks of Baekhyun lying so still on the bed, _dying._ Baekhyun nearly kicked him off the bed last night in his sleep. Yixing had never been happier to wake up with his face careening towards the floor.

Yixing pads across the floor and slips underneath the covers. Satisfaction hums in his chest as Baekhyun wiggles across the bed to tuck himself into Yixing’s side and steal all the warmth Yixing has to offer. Yixing lets him have it, tucking the blankets in tighter around them to trap in the heat.

Baekhyun yawns as he warms, the hand not twisted in Yixing’s robes coming up to scratch at his neck. His neck that is still healing. Yixing gently pulls his wrist away, making soft noises when Baekhyun whines. He won’t let him touch the bite just yet. It’s still scabbed over and sore. Yixing can touch it all he likes, though he doesn’t, but Jongdae brushed against it once on accident and Baekhyun winced in his sleep. He knows Baekhyun hates that Yixing won’t let him touch it, but Yixing would rather Baekhyun be upset than injured. Yixing cannot heal the bite, it has to heal on its own.

Still, he hates to leave Baekhyun pouting. He tilts Baekhyun’s chin up and chuckles. The boy’s eyes are still shut. Yixing would think he’s asleep if not for the way his nose scrunches when he kisses his brow.

“Mouth kisses, Yixing. Not face kisses.”

“Kisses on the lips, you mean.” Baekhyun grumbles and searches blindly for Yixing’s face. “I’ve spoiled you. You won’t even try to correct your speech for me.”

Finally, one of Baekhyun’s eyes crack open, “You will kiss me if I say mouth kisses. Do not need to say ‘kisses on lips’.” He’s not wrong. But Yixing is left with the feeling that he is bound for eternity to a monster of his own making. At least it is easy to soothe his savage beast.

Yixing gives Baekhyun the kisses he desires and the boy sighs against his mouth. Baekhyun needs his affection now more than ever before; being bedridden and helpless has not sat well with him. Yixing finds him bordering on anger at his own condition more often than not. There’s nothing he can do to ease this pain either; Baekhyun’s body will heal as quickly as it’s supposed to.

And so Yixing kisses him soft and slow and gentle. He kisses him until the tension in his shoulders gives out and Baekhyun is smiling sleepily when he pulls back. Baekhyun’s eyes are closed again. Yixing can see the exhaustion creeping through the rest of Baekhyun’s body, pulling his jaw into a yawn so wide Yixing’s own mouth aches in sympathy. It’s not surprising, Baekhyun was just awake for dinner an hour or so ago. He hasn’t slept nearly enough to be awake again.

He shoves his face into Yixing’s chest again. “I want to be not sick. I want to be healed.”

“I know,” Yixing kisses him one more time. It feels more like he’s trying to comfort himself than Baekhyun. He is not too proud to admit that he feels just as helpless as his human. His exhausted, miserable human. “And you will be soon. Rest, my love. The more your body rests, the sooner it will heal.”

Baekhyun huffs. If Yixing has grown tired of saying it, he can only imagine how annoyed Baekhyun must be to hear it every time he mentions how angry he is at himself. It had been Jongdae’s advice; a tip from a human healer on how to help Baekhyun through the process.

“I rest! I rest in mornings and afternoons and nights. I do not want to rest no more.” Baekhyun presses his face harder against Yixing’s chest and the skin turns wet with tears. “I want to be like before, in the garden and your study.” Sobs are muffled in Yixing’s robes and he curls himself around Baekhyun.

“ _This_ ,” Baekhyun jabs a finger at the wound on his neck and Yixing has to snatch his hand away before he hurts himself, “Forever, right? Forever with you. But I do not _see_ you now, Yixing. I sleep and I do not see you.”

“And do you think that I don’t want to be with you?” Baekhyun whimpers when Yixing wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulls him as close as he can, tangling their legs together and clinging to him like a baby monkey. “I hate that you cannot come on walks with me now or watch summer bring the gardens back to life. I want you with me every moment of the day and it hurts that you barely have the strength to get out of bed. I want you out of bed and by my side, but I would hate myself if I did not make you rest and you fell ill again.”

There’s nothing but the sounds of their breathing and Baekhyun’s soft cries into Yixing’s clothing. Yixing blames himself for most of this. If he had been more attentive, more aware of what was making Baekhyun sick before he asked Baekhyun’s body to accept a piece of his soul, then Baekhyun wouldn’t have become so sick. He would be healing as a normal human should be. He wouldn’t be so upset. It is Yixing’s fault and so he shoulders Baekhyun’s pain alongside his own.

“Not your fault,” Baekhyun whispers when his tears finally run dry. How does Baekhyun always seem to know what is in Yixing’s head? His voice is raw and hoarse from exhaustion and the tears and all the other weights bearing down on him. Yixing attempts to quiet him, but his human waves him off. “I was sick because of bad food. Jongdae say that you did not know worms in the food. Not your fault, accident. Like when I hurt Luhan’s nose.”

Hurt is a kind term for what Baekhyun did. If Luhan hadn’t been a demon, Baekhyun would have broken his nose beyond repair with the force he threw the inkwell with. Yixing cannot help but laugh at the memory of Baekhyun yelling in his own language and chucking every hard object he could get his hands on. He still isn’t sure what Luhan said to make him so upset.

“I am supposed to take care of you, Baekhyun. You were dying because I had allowed those creatures into your food.”

“I take care of you as well.” Baekhyun finally pulls away from Yixing’s chest to look him in the eye, red in the face but utterly determined. “You are sad because I make you sad. My fault you feel bad.”

And that’s an absolute lie. Baekhyun is one of the few things in the world that make him _truly_ happy. He refuses to hear someone so precious to him blame themselves for something they cannot control. It is Yixing’s body and mind, what happens to it is his own fault. He does not even finish his first sentence of telling Baekhyun exactly that when he pauses. Yixing is once again in awe of his human’s intelligence.

“See? My body, my fault.” Baekhyun smiles so proudly when Yixing struggles for a response. He wipes at stray tears and looks smug in a way no other being could get away with unscathed. It seems that Baekhyun has become even more incorrigible in his time of rest. That's perfectly fine. He loves that Baekhyun feels safe enough to mock him, even if it does push and pull at his patience.

"Would you blame me for your continued rest, at least?" Baekhyun tips his head to the side in confusion. "I would rather you stay in bed, where you are safe, until you have fully recovered. So do not blame yourself, blame me for needing to keep you so safe every moment of the day."

Yixing allows himself a small smile when Baekhyun rolls his eyes and huffs out an exasperated sigh. The human wiggles until Yixing releases him, pushing himself up onto his elbows. Baekhyun's arms shake from the sudden strain. Yixing has to stop himself from grabbing him by the shoulders and gently pulling him back down. But Baekhyun keeps himself up and blows his hair out of his face, looking Yixing in the eye with a determined pout, "I do not blame you. Not your fault. My fault I am in bed all day."

Who would Yixing be if he allowed Baekhyun to blame himself for something out of his control? Baekhyun will heal faster when he feels better and frustration at his own limitations do _not_ help him feel better. Yixing simply has to stop it, he would be doing his Baekhyun a disservice if he did not. If Baekhyun believes that it is his own body forcing him to rest, Yixing will make certain that is something else keeping him in bed.

He rolls onto his back, sneaking an arm around Baekhyun's waist to pull him along. The boy lands on Yixing's chest, disoriented and unable to stop Yixing from holding him tight. Yixing gives Baekhyun his own smug smile. "Now it is not your fault. You cannot move, I won't let you. Do not be angry with yourself, be angry with me."

Baekhyun squirms and struggles against Yixing's hold, whining when he realizes he is truly stuck. And then Baekhyun's smile breaks into something sweet and silly and the guilt in Yixing's stomach is helpless under the wave of adoration that crashes over him. "You are silly, Yixing. I am not ever angry at you though. Only little mad." Yixing can live with a _little mad_.

"You are the cutest creature to have ever walked this plane," Yixing tugs at a lock of his hair, "your smile could be the beginning and end of a war. I would fight over it if need be."

Baekhyun rolls his eyes again. Where did he learn that? Luhan or Jongdae, most likely. Though Yixing cannot remember if either of them have this particular habit. It is quite cute on Baekhyun, even if it does dive under Yixing's skin and stay there. "You do not need to fight. I am yours and my smile is yours as well."

"I adore you," Yixing murmurs. No one else on this plane will ever be able to make Yixing's heart swell and attempt to beat out of his chest like Baekhyun. No one else will ever have the chance, of course; even if they did, nothing they could say or do would ever evoke the same reaction as that of Baekhyun simply smiling.

"I _love_ you!" They stare at each other for a moment and then Baekhyun wiggles again, "Want out now." Yixing lets him roll off of his chest. He would prefer to keep holding Baekhyun if he could, but the human does not _always_ crave touch. At least he curls into Yixing's side when he's happy and comfortable under the blankets once more.

Yixing curls a hand in his hair and strokes through the strands. He can feel Baekhyun start to drift off again. He expected as much, Baekhyun never stays awake this long after so few hours of sleep. But he fights it. He fights to stay awake every time. They both know it's useless, but Baekhyun forces his eyes open time and time again, grunting in frustration when his eyelids flutter open only to fall shut.

Yixing just keeps the hand in his hair moving, scratching under the curve in his skull. Baekhyun utterly despises being told to sleep, but he never seems to mind when Yixing soothes him like this. Likely because he hasn't realized that Yixing is doing it solely to put him to sleep.

Finally, Baekhyun yawns until his jaw pops and shifts so his head is pillowed on Yixing's chest. “Good night,” he mumbles, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Good. Because I am here for all the days now.” As if that hasn’t been Yixing’s intention from the moment he laid eyes on him.

* * *

 

Baekhyun doesn’t start leaving the bed on his own until summer is reaching its peak. Yixing helps him around their room first, happy to let the boy lean on him when his legs grow too tired. Of course, Baekhyun is not satisfied with being confined to their room, nor with Yixing holding him steady at every footfall. He levers himself out of bed one day when Yixing thinks he’s napping and walks the estate until he nearly collapses. Baekhyun pulls at the bond as a cry for help and it comes close to sending Yixing into madness, sprinting through the halls. He finds Baekhyun sitting on the ground with his back to the wall and panting.

“I did it,” he says, smiling up at Yixing so beautifully, wonderfully proud of himself, “I walked!” And then he put his arms up for Yixing to help him to his feet again. Yixing crouches down and cups his face instead and wonders why his human seems so determined to send him hurtling into insanity.

His sweet Baekhyun. There is no one in the world that makes him so happy or drives him so insane. He knows Baekhyun has been struggling with the sluggish pace of his recovery, but all the time spent resting and being spoiled was worth it. Yixing has finally learned what Baekhyun looks like when he’s well-fed.

Yixing’s heart always stutters in his chest at the softness around his human’s jaw, the way it folds when he falls asleep in his desk chair. His thighs are thicker and Yixing has taken each and every opportunity to cover the pale skin in signs of his possession; Baekhyun doesn’t seem to mind.

One night, Yixing went to get a cloth to clean their mixed release of the human’s stomach and came back to find him touching at the purples and reds along the inside of his thighs. “You are selfish,” Baekhyun giggled when Yixing settled next to him on the bed. He would’ve be hurt if he wasn’t certain that Baekhyun is just as selfish.

A noble that considered himself a friend – Yixing has gone over every interaction they’ve had and still cannot understand why the human had ever considered them friends – had sent a whore to his house one day because he had heard of Yixing’s sudden disappearance from brothels. But not of Baekhyun. The boy was a pretty thing, the kind of whore Yixing would have picked up before he met the most beautiful creature to exist. Yixing had carried Baekhyun to his study, giving in to that damned pout, and spent the day curled up together on the sofa.

It was a lovely day until a servant sent the whore into the study for Yixing to turn away. Baekhyun knew what the other boy was by sight and began screaming at him _and_ Yixing in his own language until his voice broke and he burst into tears. The other human was gone before Yixing had the chance to tell him to leave; he had been too preoccupied with soothing Baekhyun to notice anyway.

Yixing has yet to fully understand what Baekhyun was screaming at them. But Baekhyun was very clear when he calmed down enough to use Yixing’s language again. Yixing is _his_ , not for anyone else to touch.

But here, now, Baekhyun is smiling at him and attempting to push himself back up. “Help me? I am tired.” Of course he’s tired, he ignored his body’s limitations and pushed himself farther than he should have. Yixing still helps him to his feet. How could he do anything else against that damned sweet face. It was sent by Fate herself to destroy him from the inside out and rebuild him anew. And it worked, the Yixing of the past would have helped Baekhyun to his feet, yes, but he would never have been so verbally obnoxious about how much he adored Baekhyun before.

Baekhyun’s legs tremble when Yixing sets him on his feet. It is his job to take care of his human, and Baekhyun’s body has endured enough today, even if the boy won’t admit it. He fits an arm underneath Baekhyun’s knees and lifts, and it feels oddly reminiscent of that first day in the market. “No! I want to walk! Put me down! Yixing, no,” his beautiful human whines and kicks weakly in his arms, twitches of exhausted muscle.

Maybe not entirely similar to the first day in the market.

“Let me take care of you,” Yixing murmurs against his temple, “you should rest.” Baekhyun relaxes with an exasperated sigh, as if Yixing is the one being unreasonable. Yixing smiles regardless. He’ll be the unreasonable one if it means herding him back to bed.

Baekhyun manages to pout his way into the study instead, tugging a chair over to sit with Yixing at his desk. “I missed you,” he says very sweetly and leans his head against Yixing’s shoulder; Yixing falls for it. He knows it is just a way for Baekhyun to stay out of bed, where he should be resting, but he falls for it anyway. And so he lets Baekhyun cuddle into his side and starts his work for the day, pulling over a stack of papers that he would really rather throw into the hearth. Cat lies fast asleep at their feet, snoring quietly in a way that makes Baekhyun giggle.

Baekhyun holds Yixing’s non-writing hand in both of his own and listens intently as Yixing reads documents from the palace aloud. He stops him on occasion to ask what a word means or to point out characters that he knows. Baekhyun is nearly reading on his own. Documents from the palace are much too advanced for now, but he understands most of Yifan’s letters. Jongdae taught him the basics of reading in his own language as well, letters that stand for sounds first and words when put together. It seems strange to Yixing, but Baekhyun is already writing letters to Jongdae on his own.

The next document is simply another declaration of the emperor’s incompetence. “‘The emperor is still refusing to hold audience or see his ministers.’ His subjects will revolt if this continues much longer. His advisors are doing what they can but a court without a ruler is a dangerous thing.”

“What is _subject_ ,” Baekhyun asks.

“The people an emperor rules over.”

“You and me are subjects?”

Yixing barks out a laugh and Baekhyun jumps in his seat. “No,” he says between gasps of laughter, “we will never be under the reign of anyone, much less a mortal. The day I do what a human tells me to do is the day I lose all respect for myself.”

And Baekhyun turns to him, lips twitching up at the corners and something unreadable in his eyes. “Yixing, you are silly. You do what I say lots.” Smug, that’s the look in his eyes. Baekhyun tucks his face into the curve of Yixing’s neck and giggles. Yixing is too shocked to think of anything to say in response. “It’s okay, I know I am different,” Baekhyun says, “I am only human you listen to.”

“You are, you are the most important creature in existence to me.” Baekhyun preens, almost like one of the birds that have flocked to the gardens. Yixing tells him how important he is, how much he loves him, every morning, noon, and evening, but Baekhyun seems to never grow tired of it. Good. Yixing never wants him to stop enjoying being told how precious he is. “But you are also a menace.”

“Your menace,” he says and leans in for a kiss. Isn’t Yixing so fortunate? He has a menace to call his own. But he still meets Baekhyun halfway because he is, in all truth, under the rule of a stubborn little emperor. “I love you.”

“I love you too, my menace.”

* * *

 

“Yixing,” he wakes to Baekhyun cooing in his ear, “Yixing, wake up! Snowing outside! I want to see.” Yixing opens his eyes to a beautiful sight, Baekhyun with sleep-tousled hair and pretty purple bruises running down his neck and across his chest. He traces the scars his teeth left with one finger and smiles at the shiver that runs down Baekhyun’s spine. “I’m sore, Yixing, no more sex.” Yixing can’t help wanting to touch, his human is just too beautiful. But he moves his hand to cup Baekhyun’s cheek instead.

Baekhyun never wakes before him, especially not after a night like the one before. He’d fallen asleep before Yixing had even returned with a cloth to wipe him clean. Baekhyun should still be sleeping against his side, face relaxed and beautiful. Yixing will take this instead though, Baekhyun awake and smiling, sleepiness in the softness of his cheeks. “What woke you up?”

“Bad dreams.” Baekhyun’s face falls and he lies back down, picking at a loose thread in the blanket. Yixing sighs and pulls him close, one hand holding tight to his waist and the other running through his hair. The dreams don’t come often, never more than once every few weeks, but they always plague Baekhyun for days afterwards. Yixing is always at the center of each dream as well. He had woken up one night to Baekhyun calling for him – screaming his name and bursting into nearly inconsolable tears when the sound of his own voice finally tore him from sleep. Yixing had left him, apparently, simply walked away and pushed him back whenever Baekhyun had chased after him. Baekhyun had refused to let Yixing out of sight for days afterward.

It is what he does after these dreams. He stays close to Baekhyun and soothes his worries, whatever they may be.

"What did you dream about?"

"The brothel," Baekhyun whispers. One hand searches for Yixing's own and holds him like he's afraid Yixing may disappear if he doesn't hold him tight enough. "You did not save me. You saw me and frowned and left. I called for you but you would not come back." The bond sends flashes of panic, of overwhelming misery. Yixing wants to reach into Baekhyun's mind while he sleeps and tear the bad dreams out, replace them with the quiet afternoons in front of the hearth with Cat at their feet or the day they watched all of Baekhyun's butterflies fly away.

But he can't do that. Not yet, at least. So he presses a line of kisses from Baekhyun's forehead to his lips instead, nipping the tip of his nose to make him giggle. He does the only thing he can do when the dreams come – he loves Baekhyun with his entire being. It is what he does every day, regardless of nightmares, but he tries to love his human that much more when he wakes up with that fear and despair sitting heavy in his stomach.

"Kiss me again?" Yixing does so gladly, pressing mouths together and letting Baekhyun lead. It's nothing more than a soft, sweet press of lips, but it makes Baekhyun happy, the bond turning lighter with each passing second. When his human pulls back, he's smiling, and that's all that Yixing can ask for.

Yixing pulls the blankets a little higher. The winters here are mild but he is paranoid about keeping Baekhyun warm and healthy. He knows in his mind that Baekhyun is immune to sicknesses now, to the worms that tried to take him from Yixing nearly a year ago. Yixing has seen the evidence of Baekhyun's health with his own eyes, felt it underneath his fingers, but his heart and soul still worry.

It's why he wishes Baekhyun wasn't so sore. Sex keeps him warm and safe within Yixing's arms. The snow outside is cold; humans get sick in the cold. "Luhan sent a new letter for you. It's a long one and he described all the animals he saw like you asked. If you'd like, I can go start a new fire in the study and we can read it over breakfast."

Baekhyun shakes his head. "No," he says, "maybe after we go play in snow." And then Baekhyun, the creature that would keep Yixing in bed all day if he could, slips out of Yixing's arms and crawls out from under the covers. He winces when he sits up and Yixing hums and rubs at the boy's tailbone.

"If your back hurts, we can stay in bed. You don't have to get up today." Victory tastes sweet when Baekhyun turns back around from the edge of the bed to look at him. "I finally understand why you like to stay in bed."

"No… I do not want to stay in bed today.” Because that particular habit disappeared when Baekhyun was finally deemed healthy enough to move around the estate at will again. Yixing misses it dearly; getting Baekhyun to stay in bed is nearly impossible now. Even as he shivers from the cold air outside the blankets, Baekhyun forces himself onwards to their wardrobe. “Up, Yixing! I wish to see the snow!” And whatever Baekhyun wants, Baekhyun gets, so Yixing forces himself out of their warm bed.

Changsha is known for warm winters. So why is it snowing in their garden? Why is their bed the only warm place left in the entire estate? Likely Fate trying to drive him mad. “Are you certain you wouldn’t rather stay in bed,” Yixing asks and pulls Baekhyun back against his chest, “You hate the cold.”

“But I wish to see the snow! Please, Yixing? I love the snow.” Yixing knows he loves the snow. He pouts about Changsha’s mild winters whenever he gets a letter from Jongdae telling him about the snow in Incheon. Maybe that is why this winter is so cold, because Fate wishes to make Baekhyun happy. Yixing wouldn’t be surprised. He spends most of his time trying to make his human happy too.

 Which is why ends up standing in his garden in only his nightclothes. Snow is falling but little of it sticks to the ground. Even if the clouds themselves are conspiring to give Baekhyun the winter he wants, Changsha is just too warm for the cold to stick. But Baekhyun doesn’t seem to mind. He runs around with his hands cupped in front of him, catching all the snowflakes he can. Most melt when they touch his skin but he brings the few that hold their shape over for Yixing to see. “So pretty! Look, I have two!”

“Lovely,” Yixing agrees, “Wonderfully done.”

Baekhyun’s cheeks and nose are bright red from the cold and yet he is completely unbothered. He would stay outside all day if Yixing let him, too much energy and not enough sense. Though he says that Yixing worries for him too much. Baekhyun is the sun, moon, and stars to Yixing, the air that he breathes; why would he not worry for him?

“Lord Lay,” Yixing turns to see Jingyi in a bow, “breakfast is ready whenever you and Lord Baekhyun wish to eat.”

“Thank you, Jingyi. Leave it in my study, please.”

Yixing waits to call for Baekhyun. His human is chasing the last snowflake around the garden, yelling in frustration. It reminds Yixing of trying catch Baekhyun and keep him from running off whenever one of the higher-ranking nobles arrange a visit. He has found Baekhyun in all sorts of strange places on those days, including the roof. It does not matter how many times Yixing tells him that these nobles have a bit more sense, a bit more of an instinct for self-preservation, and won’t insult him; Baekhyun _hates_ visiting dignitaries.

Yixing lied to him once and said that it was Yifan coming to visit for the day. He slept alone on the sofa in the study that night.

Baekhyun returns from the farthest edge of the garden with a pout, “It turned to water before I catched it.”

“It melted before you caught it? I’m sorry,” Yixing wraps his arms around Baekhyun’s middle when he comes close and pulls him in. Frigid little fingers slip under his nightclothes and Yixing hisses, pinching at the fat on his human’s hips. “You are warm, Xing,” Baekhyun murmurs, “feels good.” Yixing would like to say that it is not his duty to allow Baekhyun to steal all his warmth, but it is. And so he forces himself to not push the icy fingers away. Baekhyun doesn’t appreciate him enough. “Mm… Love you.” Or maybe he does.

“I love you too, even when you are freezing.” Baekhyun giggles and tucks his face against Yixing’s neck. The cold has never bothered Yixing much before, but he shivers at this cold seeping in through his skin now. “Breakfast is in the study if you’re hungry.”

“I am. Can we go now?”

“Of course. If you would let go and allow me to walk.”

Baekhyun’s cheeks burn an even darker red and he smiles a soft, embarrassed smile. “Will you carry me? My back hurts very much.” Yixing is bending down to fit an arm under Baekhyun’s knees before he can finish his sentence.

“You push yourself too hard,” Yixing scolds, “You will fall one day.”

“And you will catch me,” Baekhyun says with absolute certainty. Yixing _will_ always catch him, but he’d like for Baekhyun to stop pushing himself until he collapses. He does not think that is too much to ask.

Breakfast is short affair. Baekhyun eats all his food in minutes and then eats what Yixing gives him of his own breakfast. Yixing doesn’t mind sharing. Baekhyun is too shy to go to the kitchen and ask for more food; he’d go hungry until their next meal if Yixing did not share. And everything Yixing has is Baekhyun’s as well, food included.

“Can we read Luhan’s letter now?” Baekhyun is settled on his lap in front of the hearth, warming his toes by the fire and his hands in Yixing’s own. Perhaps the cold does serve some sort of purpose. “He went to the – jang-jungle? Jungle, yes?”

“Mhm. The jungle. The letter is long, don’t be afraid to take rest if you need to. Luhan’s handwriting is a bit messier than mine, it may be harder to read.” Yixing hands him the letter and Baekhyun squirms to better seat himself in Yixing’s lap. Yixing would find the determined furrow to his brow adorable if not for the fact of _where_ the boy is wriggling. As is, he finds that he has to remind himself that Baekhyun is sore and then imagine what the emperor might look like naked.

Baekhyun is oblivious – most likely not, seeing as he is more observant than Yixing, Yifan, and Luhan put together, but Yixing pretends that his human has no idea what he’s doing to him. Still, Baekhyun folds open his letter without a care for the way Yixing is forcibly controlling his own breathing. “Baekhyun,” he reads, “I am in the jungle now. The tr-trees here are gor-gee-us and very tall. I think you would find them f-fas…”

“Fascinating.”

“Fascinating. If you and Yixing visit, you should ask him to help you climb one.” Baekhyun pauses and turns back to Yixing, “How did I do?”

“Wonderfully. You worked through _gorgeous_ on your own. I’m very proud of you.” Yixing kisses his cheek and taps at the character Baekhyun had stumbled through.

“Gorgeous. That is said like gorgeous not gor-gee-us.” Baekhyun starts on the next paragraph and Yixing leans his head back against the sofa. He loves these moments. He gets to sit and relax with Baekhyun in his arms, no other duties from the palace to bother him and no sudden bursts of energy from Baekhyun to follow. And he is able to listen to Baekhyun read. His human falters often as it’s only been a little over a year since he started learning the language, but he corrects most of his own mistakes and only taps Yixing’s thigh for help on the more complex words.

“‘There is one animal I do not think you should meet. I have a car… carving of it to give you when I return. The people here call it a ti-ger’. Ti-geeeer. Tiger. Tieee-geeer. Tiger. ‘Yixing knows this cre-ah-ture’ No, not cre-ah-ture. Yixing, it says creature, yes? Not cre-ah-ture? And is a tiger mean?”

Yixing will explode from pride one day. Baekhyun will work through a letter entirely on his own and Yixing will simply burst. He has a difficult time containing his pride now. “That’s right. And keep reading. Luhan might tell you more about the tiger.”

“Alright. Thank you for helping me, Yixing.”

“Of course, love, it is my pleasure.” He kisses the shell of Baekhyun’s ear and smiles.

“‘Yixing knows this creature. He visited this jungle with me once and bothered the animal until it attacked him.’ Not nice, Yixing!” Baekhyun pinches the outside of his thigh and squeaks when Yixing pinches his hips in retaliation. He knows he shouldn’t, Baekhyun is so embarrassed by the new softness of his legs and tummy, but Yixing can’t help himself.

And Yixing loves it. Last night he found that he couldn’t see Baekhyun’s ribs any longer and it was the most wonderful thing.

Baekhyun smacks the hands pinching at his hips and turns around with a pout. Yixing kisses it and smiles until his lips ache. Some may say that he kisses Baekhyun too much; Yixing believe he doesn’t kiss Baekhyun enough. “Stop,” Baekhyun whines, “Not nice. Were you mean to the tiger also?”

“Mean? I have been led to believe that I am a very kind person. To you, at least.” Yixing begins a line of kisses down the side of Baekhyun’s neck. He revels in the soft gasp, the tilt of Baekhyun’s head to give him access. But he takes it no further, resting his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder instead. “I love you more than words can say.”

Baekhyun once accused him of coddling him because of the nightmares. He was right, to an extent. Yixing stays close because Baekhyun needs him close, but the outpouring of verbal affection is very much for his own sake. _He_ needs to be certain that Baekhyun knows how much he is loved, that the dreams are not real and will never be real.

“But I can feel it,” Baekhyun says, “in the light.”

“The light?”

“Mhm.” Yixing watches in confusion as Baekhyun taps at his chest and and then at Yixing’s. “I see it when I wish to but it’s always here. I can feel it.”

“You are an incredible creature, Baekhyun.” No demon nor human has ever admitted to seeing their bond. Yixing cannot, and he would believe that Namjoon cannot either or else he would have already heard of it. But his human has always been special. It is only right for Baekhyun to do what no other can do.

“Thank you.” And then Baekhyun turns back to the letter, working through Luhan’s description of a tiger and of Yixing’s fight with one. He pauses, “What does this mean?”

“ _Perfect_. It seems Luhan wrote about you as well,” Yixing hugs Baekhyun tight and decides that he only wants to hold Baekhyun for the rest of the day. And so he does. He listens to Baekhyun giggle at being reminded that he is perfect, laughter echoing in his own chest. Yixing drifts to the sweet lilt and stutter of Baekhyun’s voice, each stumble endearing. But Baekhyun quickly becomes frustrated, breaths coming heavy and forced as he finds more and more words he does not know.

“Remember, love, reading is difficult at first. We can rest for a moment and finish the letter later.”

“I want to rest,” Baekhyun sighs. Yixing takes the letter from him and sets it out of his reach. Baekhyun is notorious for saying he is ready to rest and then frustrating himself further by continuing when he knows he needs to stop. Not now though. Now, Baekhyun turns in Yixing’s arms until he’s comfortable and tucks his head under Yixing’s chin. “Back to bed? I am not sore now.”

There’s a spark of something mischievous in Baekhyun’s eyes, but Yixing ignores it in favor of laying Baekhyun down on the sofa and kissing the air from his lungs.

* * *

 

Yixing follows Baekhyun down the dirt path, though it's more mud than dirt after the rain. Baekhyun had refused to wear shoes and Yixing can only imagine the mess they're going to make when they return to Jongdae's inn. With any luck, Jongdae won't be awake to see Baekhyun tracking mud throughout his inn. With any luck, Baekhyun knows where he's going and won't get them lost.

There's only moonlight to guide them - to guide _Baekhyun,_ who does not have Yixing's enhanced sight in the dark. But his human is determined, focused, not a single misstep or moment of hesitation. Baekhyun still loses his way to the market some days; Yixing is reasonably worried that he will end this night carrying Baekhyun back to the inn as the sun rises without ever reaching their destination.

Not how he had planned for their last night in Incheon to go, but Baekhyun had begged for Yixing to come with him out into a forest a few hours' walk from the market Yixing met him in ten years ago.

Ten years. A decade. The best decade Yixing has ever lived through. It still amazes him and he is thankful for it each and every day. This was their anniversary, revisiting the place they met and enjoying well-earned time with friends.

Jongdae hugged Baekhyun for longer than Yixing was comfortable with when they arrived, though he endures it because Jongdae says that he's still working through the memory of Baekhyun's nearly dead body. Yixing understands, he has the occasional nightmare where Baekhyun never woke up.

They saw Baekhyun's former master in the market one day, a rodent of a man that reminded Yixing distinctly of a plague-bearing rat. And Baekhyun had stopped in his tracks, hand squeezing Yixing's tight. He stared the man down and Yixing considered asking if Baekhyun wanted him taken care of. Yixing hasn't killed anyone since the noble who insulted his human all those years ago. But Baekhyun had taken a deep breath _I am better than him. He is not worthy of my anger._

Yixing had been so proud.

"We're here," Baekhyun says as they enter a clearing. Yixing looks around and finds himself a bit underwhelmed. Baekhyun had said that the place he was taking them to was intensely special to him. It doesn't seem like much more than a particularly beautiful clearing.

But Baekhyun walks forward and settles in front of a tree, falling to his knees and brushing his hair out of his face. Yixing follows in confusion. And then in alarm because his human lets out the shaking sigh that comes before tears.

Baekhyun sighs again and then hiccups, "I missed you, Mama."

How could Yixing forget? Baekhyun had asked Yixing one night if his kind had parents and mentioned that his own mother had died when he was very young. She left him to go back to the brothel and came across a deadly patron. Baekhyun buried his mother on his own. It only makes sense for Baekhyun to know its location by heart.

"I will be just a ways away, love. Call for me if you need me," Yixing leans down and kisses Baekhyun's temple before walking back to the edge of the clearing. There is just something too personal about this, too intimate for Yixing to feel comfortable. Even in relationships such as theirs, there are moments that need to be kept private.

Baekhyun nods and lapses back into his own language and Yixing is grateful that he took the time to learn it. He is not fluent, but he understands most of Baekhyun's speech. "I'm sorry I took so long. I know I promised I'd visit you often, but things... Things have changed. I don't know how to tell you and make it make sense, but know that I am happy. I-I am _so happy_ , Mama." Baekhyun sobs. Yixing turns to see him curl into the roots of the tree and his own heart aches.

"I am happy all the time. I wake up h-happy and I go to b-bed happy. I wanted you to know that I'm happy like you wanted. Because of Yixing. The man who came with me, that is Yixing and I love him. I think you would love him too. He is a good m-man; he does not seem like it sometimes because he does not like most h-humans, but he is a good man. I love him so much, Mama. We l-live in Changsha and I learned to speak the language of the empire. I read it too. I _read_ now. I read and write in our language too."

It starts to rain again. Good, the rain helps to hide Yixing's tears. In all his years with Baekhyun, he has never heard him sound so utterly destroyed. He wants nothing more than to comfort him and wipe away his tears. But he would hate to break this moment. Baekhyun has waited ten years to visit his mother and Yixing will not ruin it for him.

"I do not know when I will be back, but I think of you often. I love you and I hope you are resting well. I miss you, Mama. _I miss you_." Baekhyun breaks into endless sobs and Yixing slides next to him in the mud, helpless to do anything but return to his side. It is what he does, he loves Baekhyun. "I miss her, Yixing," Baekhyun whispers brokenly, surging into Yixing's arms. "It _hurts._ I want it stop hurting."

"I am so sorry. I would take your pain if I could." And this where Yixing would threaten the cause of this pain. But time has taught him differently and there is no one to threaten. So instead of falling into anger, Yixing holds Baekhyun tighter. There are no words he can say to ease this pain. All he can do is hold him until the tears subside.

"Do you – do you think she is proud of me?"

"Yes," Yixing whispers with all the strength in his body, "She is so proud of you." He tilts Baekhyun's chin up and wipes away his tears, "so proud. Think of all you have done and will do. Your mother is proud of you and can only become more proud as time goes on. And you do not have to wait to see her again. We can come to visit her at any time, just tell me."

"Really?"

"Yes, I would never keep you from her." Yixing ignores his own tears and focuses on wiping away each and every drop that runs down Baekhyun's cheeks until the boy starts to laugh. "The sky is crying enough for us both," he says, "I don't want you to get a headache."

The rain soaks through their clothing and mud is seeping between the fingers of the hand Yixing has braced on the ground. Baekhyun's hair sticks to his face and Yixing's neck. Yixing doesn't even _think_ of moving. They will stay with Baekhyun's mother until Baekhyun decides to leave.

Baekhyun's sobs quiet slowly. The laughter helps, but Baekhyun still clings to Yixing's shoulders for comfort that he is only too willing to give. Yixing has already decided to carry Baekhyun home and give his human a chance to rest. And Yixing loves to carry him. He has not had a chance to spoil in Baekhyun in a few days; it is long overdue.

"Thank you for coming. I thought... I just needed you to meet her."

"Anything for you. You know I would do anything you asked of me. And... Baekhee, that is her name, yes? Thank you, Baekhee, for bringing Baekhyun into the world. You have given me the greatest gift I could ever ask for. May your soul rest well." Baekhyun hiccups and leans up to kiss him. Nothing more than a sweet press of lips but the love is there all the same.

Baekhyun decides he is ready to leave when the rain stops. Both he and Yixing bow to Baekhee's tree and promise to visit her again soon. Yixing picks Baekhyun up then, helping him onto his back and starting the long walk back to the inn. He can feel the exhaustion thrumming through the bond and Baekhyun falls into a deep sleep the moment he rests his weight on Yixing.

 _Thank you._ Yixing startles and turns on his heel. The rain has stopped but lightning flashes across the sky and illuminates the outline of a person at the edge of the clearing. Lightning flashes again and the woman – girl, barely older than Baekhyun – is smiling at him. _Thank you._ Yixing has heard of it happening before; he had never imagined that it would happen to him.

"You are very welcome, Baekhee. I will love him for eternity." _I know and for that you have my thanks. Take him home, please, he may not get sick anymore but I still worry about him in the rain._ "Yes ma'am. Rest well until we return."

"Bye, Mama," Baekhyun mumbles in his sleep, fingers twitching. _Goodbye, Baekkie. Be good._ The lightning flashes once more and Baekhee is gone.

They will visit Baekhee again, perhaps on one of the days the planes come close together to allow a new demon to surface.

Yixing walks to Jongdae's inn feeling light. Feeling at peace. Yixing feels at peace.

* * *

 

"Hey, Yixing," Baekhyun murmurs into the pillow after shutting off their alarm clock. "Happy four hundred and sixty-fifth anniversary."

Yixing laughs. Only Baekhyun would track anniversaries after this many years. "Happy four hundred and sixty-fifth anniversary. I love you."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked it, please leave a comment and a kudos!
> 
> If you want to, come talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/killmeDO) or [Curious Cat!](https://curiouscat.me/killmeDO)
> 
> This will be updated when Demons Aren't Real is done!


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